The Bengals believe they need a wide receiver.
Antonio Bryant and Terrell Owens are two free agents they are considering, but ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports there have been internal discussions about going a splashier route.
Cincinnati has talked about going after Brandon Marshall. How serious the Bengals will be in their pursuit is a “matter of discussion within the organization.”
The Bengals pick No. 21 overall, but giving that pick up would strongly go against Mike Brown’s history. The Bengals grand poobah has used his first-round pick every year since 1989, and there is great value in contracts that late in the round.
The Seahawks hosted Marshall over the weekend, but it’s unclear if they are willing to give up one of their first round picks to get him. (They own No. 6 and No. 14 overall.)
It remains unclear if there will be competition for Marshall’s services, which this report could be aimed at doing.
The Broncos have taken the position that they will only take a first-round pick for Marshall, as they should. It still would be a stunner if the Bengals were the team to do it.
UPDATE: Joe Reedy of the Cincinnati Enquirer tweets he believes the report is “mostly a smokescreen” to drive the price up for Marshall.