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Bengals Impacted By Massive AFC North Trade + Cincinnati Reds In Shambles
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Bengals Impacted By Massive AFC North Trade + Cincinnati Reds In Shambles
Chatterbox Sports | Cincinnati Sports Talk & more›
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For the Cincinnati Bengals, the trade is still largely good news, even though Cleveland got a significant return.
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The biggest reason is simple: Garrett was a uniquely difficult matchup for Cincinnati. He recorded the record-setting 23rd sack of his 2025 season against Joe Burrow in the season finale and had become the one defender who could completely alter the Bengals' offensive game plan.
Verse is an excellent young pass rusher, but he's not Garrett. Garrett was coming off a Defensive Player of the Year season and an NFL-record 23 sacks. Replacing that level of production is almost impossible, even with a player as talented as Verse.
The trade also signals that Cleveland is thinking more about the future than maximizing its chances right now. Acquiring draft capital and a younger edge rusher aligns with a longer-term roster build, while the Rams clearly made the move to chase a championship immediately.
That doesn't mean the Bengals should celebrate too much. The Browns didn't get fleeced. Verse is already a high-end young defender, and Cleveland added a first-round pick, a second-round pick, and a third-round pick. Several analysts have argued that Verse softens the loss considerably and fits the Browns' timeline better than a 30-year-old Garrett.
So the Bengals' view is probably:
Short term: huge win because Garrett is gone.
Long term: less clear because Cleveland acquired a potential star in Verse and valuable draft assets.
If you're a Bengals fan, the best part isn't that the Browns got worse overall—it's that you no longer have to face Myles Garrett twice a year. That's a meaningful change in the AFC North.
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