ESPN taps surprising roster weakness for Bengals ahead of 2024 season
The Cincinnati Bengals have a few pressing roster concerns heading into 2024.
Wide receiver, though, doesn’t usually come up as a major red flag at this point.
Still, it’s the choice for ESPN’s Aaron Schatz when asked to name the biggest remaining hole for each team:
Wide receiver is only a “hole” for the Bengals because we still don’t know what will happen with franchise-tagged Tee Higgins and his trade request. If Higgins stays in Cincinnati, the Bengals should have a reasonable group to fill out the wide receiver depth chart: third-round pick Jermaine Burton, the always underrated Trenton Irwin (110 and 83 receiving DYAR in the past two seasons) and promising second-year receiver Andrei Iosivas. However, any of these players would be stretched as a full-time starter opposite Ja’Marr Chase.
Unless Tee Higgins for some reason refuses to sign the $21.8 million franchise tag this summer, though, it feels safe to rule out his situation as a question mark for 2024. The Bengals aren’t going to trade him and all signs point to — at worst — things playing out like the Jessie Bates situation.
With third-rounder Jermaine Burton and sophomores Charlie Jones and Andrei Iosivas as options for the slot and long-term, more concerning at this point is likely the DJ Reader-less defensive line and a secondary still trying to figure out where former first-rounder Dax Hill fits after a position change.
