How the Tyreek Hill trade sets up the perfect trade for the Bengals
Tyreek Hill is officially on his way to Miami, so how does that affect the Bengals? Well, it unfortunately means the Bengals won't avoid playing Hill in 2022. The Chiefs are one of the Bengals' scheduled opponents, but so are the Dolphins. Therefore, Lou Anarumo and Co. will still be up at night game planning […]
Tyreek Hill is officially on his way to Miami, so how does that affect the Bengals?
Well, it unfortunately means the Bengals won't avoid playing Hill in 2022. The Chiefs are one of the Bengals' scheduled opponents, but so are the Dolphins. Therefore, Lou Anarumo and Co. will still be up at night game planning a way to stop Hill from catching touchdowns.
But there's a way for the Bengals to spin this into a positive.
A big positive.
With Hill comes a massive contract. A four-year, $120 million contract that includes a little more than $52 million at signing. $72.2 million of it is guaranteed at the start of the 2023 season, too.
That's a huge commitment. Not just in terms of draft capital (Miami gave up five picks to acquire Hill), but in terms of cap space, as well.
Naturally, Miami has very little of both after the trade.
But the Bengals can help fix that. And they can do so while simultaneously acquiring an elite player at a position of need for themselves.
This all comes in the form of a trade for cornerback Xavien Howard.
Howard has been at the center of trade talks since last summer, but nothing ever came to fruition. The Dolphins restructured his contract before the season began and also gave him assurances that the two parties would revisit Howard's contract during the 2022 offseason.
A timeline was given by Dolphins GM Chris Grier. Howard would either have a new deal or be traded by the start of the new league year.
At first, things sounded promising.
But then, the gap widened a bit.
Regardless of where things stand now, there's one factor that's clear: The 2022 season started a week ago today and nothing has changed when it comes to Howard or his contract. And even though Grier is still around, there's a new coaching staff in place.
The Dolphins didn't have a ton of cap space before they traded for Hill and they only had a standard amount of picks. Both are now in short supply, but trading Howard to the Bengals would net a return of both picks and cap space.
Howard would likely net at least a second-rounder and trading him would clear almost $9.8 million in cap space. The Dolphins would shake Howard's 2023 and 2024 cap hits of $15+ million and $14+ million, as well.
There's a connection for Howard in Cincinnati and that connection has a name in Anarumo. The Bengals defensive coordinator was Miami's defensive backs coach from 2012-2017 and coached Howard during Howard's first two years as a pro in 2016 & 2017. Howard recorded four interceptions in 2017 and quarterbacks averaged the sixth-worst quarterback rating (66.8) when targeting Howard that year.
The Bengals have had a successful offseason thus far, but they still need help in the secondary. Chidobe Awuzie and Mike Hilton are still in the mix as the Bengals No. 1 corner and nickelback, respectively. However, Eli Apple is still the No. 2 corner.
Apple had a decent year in 2021, but if the Bengals have a shot at a serious upgrade, they should take that shot. Howard is still a No. 1 corner in the NFL and he's yet to turn 29.
Howard's presence in addition to Awuzie, Hilton, Apple, Jessie Bates III, and Von Bell would immediately boost the Bengals defense while also giving them one of the NFL's best secondaries.
The Bengals are currently the darling of the NFL, but a trade for Howard would not only reinforce their "all-in" mentality – it'd show the rest of the league that Cincinnati is here to stay for the foreseeable future.
Featured image via Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
