Pro Bowler Visiting Cincinnati Bengals Could Take Elite Offense to Next Level

According to NFL insider Adam Schefter, Former Pro Bowl offensive tackle Trent Brown is visiting the Cincinnati Bengals on Tuesday.

Brown came into the league in 2015 after being drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the seventh round. Brown has also spent time with the Las Vegas Raiders and most recently the New England Patriots.

The Cincinnati Bengals already needed help on the offensive line before losing starting right tackle Jonah Williams to the Arizona Cardinals. Now, they desperately need to sign an offensive lineman even if they decide to go after one in the 2024 NFL Draft.

By the end of the 2023 season, Pro Football Focus had the Cincinnati Bengals ranked as the 26th-best offensive line in the NFL. They allowed 50 sacks in 2023, which was tied for the seventh-most in the NFL. No team in the top 10 for sacks allowed in 2023 made it to the playoffs, which goes to show how important pass protection is in the NFL.

While the Bengals always have a chance with quarterback Joe Burrow at the helm, poor offensive line play was the reason they had to finish the season without him. He led them to a Super Bowl in a season where the Bengals allowed the third-most sacks in the NFL, but he can’t do that if he’s injured.

Trent Brown’s Pro Football Focus grade was significantly higher than any Bengals offensive lineman in 2023. He finished with an 80.2 while no Bengals offensive lineman had a grade higher than 68.

Free Agency signings may not be the solution to the Cincinnati Bengals’ offensive line issues

After losing the Super Bowl to the Los Angeles Rams on a play that was ruined by poor offensive line play, the Cincinnati Bengals and general manager Duke Tobin have not spared any expense when it has come to protecting Burrow. Burrow had Ja’Marr Chase streaking wide open in the end zone when future Hall-of-Fame defensive tackle put a stop to any idea of a late-game touchdown.

Since that play, the Bengals have made multiple free-agency additions to their offensive line in an effort to prevent the same thing from happening again. Lineman they’ve added include:

• • T La’el Collins ($30 million)
  • G Alex Cappa ($40 million)
  • C Ted Karras ($18 million)

• • T Orlando Brown ($64 million)
  • G Cody Ford ($1 million)
  • G Max Scharping ($1.2 million)

• G Fred Johnson ($1.1 million)

Every player they’ve added in the last few years has gotten significantly worse since joining the Bengals. Many fans argue this is due to poor coaching from offensive line coach Frank Pollack, who will be sticking with the Bengals for at least another year.

Orlando Brown’s Pro Football Focus grade was 66.1 this season, which was the worst grade of his entire career. Pollack explained how he hopes Brown will improve in 2024 in an article from the Bengals’ website.

“He had some up-and-down stuff. I think he’d tell you that as well,” Pollack said of Brown’s 2023. “I know he’s been in the facility this season, already working out. I’m excited to do a little bit more with him this offseason a little bit earlier.

“He’s a guy that has a lot of good football ahead of him. I think he was maybe a little disappointed in how he came out. He’s got a lot of ability obviously, and maybe he can clean up a couple of things and help him get a little cleaner on some of his technical stuff.”

Ted Karras’ 67.4 Pro Football Focus grade is nearly 10 points lower than his grade during his last year with the New England Patriots.

Alex Cappa posted a 64.9 Pro Football Focus grade despite coming off of a 73.4 Pro Football Focus grade the year before he joined the Cincinnati Bengals. La’el Collins has struggled to find his way onto a team after the Bengals cut him following a season-ending injury.

Many argue that Pollack is responsible for the massive drop-offs seen by offensive linemen when they join the Bengals. The offensive line was responsible for both of Joe Burrow’s season-ending injuries as well as the season-ending collections of series that occurred in 2022 and 2023. The Cincinnati Bengals failed to close out the AFC Championship Game against the Kansas City Chiefs due to being terrorized by defensive tackle Chris Jones who had two of the team’s five sacks along with five quarterback hits. The Chiefs’ defensive line once again ended the Bengals’ season in 2023. They got to quarterback Jake Browning six times and had five sacks in the last six minutes of the game. The last six minutes of the game were crucial to the season as the Cincinnati Bengals needed to beat the Chiefs to have a chance to make the playoffs. Having another offensive lineman who is a proven talent in the NFL will certainly not hurt the Cincinnati Bengals and their quest to protect their star quarterback, but it will likely not solve the deeper issues that have plagued the Bengals for the last few years