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The Cincinnati Bengals made a ton of big additions to their defense this offseason, and this unit should be a lot better even after losing Trey Hendrickson to the Baltimore Ravens this offseason.
Their free-agent pickups of Jonathan Allen, Boye Mafe, and Bryan Cook were nice moves. They also drafted Cashius Howell for their defense in the 2026 NFL Draft. But the Dexter Lawrence trade was the best move.
With a revamped defensive line, the Bengals should be much better in 2026. But that deeper room now might be worth trading from. Kristopher Knox of Bleacher Report gave the Bengals a 5th-round value on a potential trade involving DT T.J. Slaton.
T.J. Slaton has 5th-round trade value for Bengals
"Projected Trade Value: 2027 5th-round pick," Knox writes. "The Cincinnati Bengals may not be actively looking to move defensive players after taking an uncharacteristically aggressive approach to building their defense this offseason. However, teams should see if Cincinnati is willing to move off veteran T.J. Slaton."
The Bengals are trying to improve their defense this offseason, so why would they trade away someone who was a solid defender for them last year?
Well, with the Jonathan Allen and Dexter Lawrence additions, the starters along the interior of the defensive line no longer include Slaton.
Regarding the team's depth, they will have B.J. Hill and Kris Jenkins as options other than Slaton in their interior. Moving Slaton wouldn't hurt the depth or starting roster.
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The former Green Bay Packers defensive tackle would surely draw some interest in the trade market, as he had three sacks last year and started all 17 games for the Bengals.
More importantly, the defensive tackle options this offseason weren't great. Cincinnati could land something decent in return for a quality interior defender like Slaton.
Trading him wouldn't hurt the Bengals depth chart of the starting roster; they could get a decent pick in return, and save $6.7 million.
Al Golden's defense might not need Slaton in the DT room, and if a team is willing to give up a 5th-round pick like Knox projects, moving the 28-year-old DT would make a ton of sense.
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