The Cincinnati Bengals got some bad news on Thursday with the report that superstar wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase will miss four to six weeks with a hip injury. Chase’s injury is a reminder of the Bengals’ lack of depth at the wide receiver position.
Cincinnati probably has the best top three wide receivers in the NFL in Chase, Tee Higgins, and Tyler Boyd. But there’s a significant drop off beyond those three.
With Chase set to miss at least a month, the Bengals would be smart to add another wide receiver before the NFL trade deadline (November 1).
The Bengals don’t need to give up a lot of assets to add a receiver since Chase will be back around the beginning of December. But Cincinnati still needs to add some inexpensive depth to weather the storm.
And there’s a perfect option in the NFC South.
The Carolina Panthers are currently trading off certain players in an attempt to stockpile picks and, presumably, clear some salary.
With that in mind, the Bengals should try to work a deal for Panthers wide receiver Terrace Marshall Jr. He was a second round pick by the Panthers in the 2021 NFL Draft. He has just 23 receptions for 199 yards over the first 17 games of his career.
Part of the reason for that is because Marshall has played in a dreadful offense with a terrible quarterback situation.
He’s also been stuck behind DJ Moore, Robbie Anderson, and Christian McCaffrey during his time in Carolina (the latter two were recently traded by the Panthers).
Marshall would be a perfect fit for the Bengals because he should be cheap and he’d have immediate chemistry with Cincy quarterback Joe Burrow.
Marshall and Burrow played together at LSU for two years. In 2019, despite playing behind Chase and Justin Jefferson, Marshall caught 46 passes for 671 yards and 13 touchdowns.
I’d say Burrow and Marshall work pretty well together.
Not only would Marshall help solve depth issues this season, but he could be an option for the Bengals in future seasons (since Cincy will have some major roster decisions to make as key players become eligible for extensions).
If Carolina is looking to sell off players, then Cincinnati should be on the phone immediately trying to figure out how to bring the former LSU wide receiver to the Bengals.
