As the Cincinnati Bengals and Detroit Lions get set to square off in their preseason opener on Thursday night, both teams are hoping that they can start gathering information that will help them make some tough roster decisions. Preseason games certainly don't tell us everything — it's mostly backups executing mostly vanilla schemes, after all — but live environments go a long way to determining which players hang on to spots on the final 53 and which don't.
Even before game action begins, though, both Cincy and Detroit have some outstanding items on their offseason to-do list. Here's one trade that each team needs to make between now and Week 1, regardless of how things play out on Thursday night.
Lions trade for a stopgap center after Cade Mays injury
The Lions don't need to get desperate in the wake of losing Mays to a broken wrist that's expected to sideline him for eight to 10 weeks. Even the conservative end of that timeline would have Detroit's new starting center missing just the first five games of the regular season, and there should be enough talent on this offense to stay afloat in the meantime.
But losing Mays, whom the team signed in free agency after a strong 2025 season in Carolina, introduces one more variable on an offensive line that was already shifting Penei Sewell to left tackle, breaking in rookie Blake Miller at right tackle and hoping for growth from second-year pro Tate Ratledge at right guard. And while Juice Scruggs or 2025 UDFA Seth McLaughlin might be able to hold down the fort for a bit, it wouldn't hurt to introduce more of a known quantity to the competition — if only to help raise the floor a bit.
Oluwatimi is hardly a Pro Bowler; Pro Bowlers don't come available this time of year, especially not for Day 3 picks. But he has started 13 games over his first three years in the league and didn't look totally out of place, and as a former fifth-round pick who's still just 27, there's ostensibly some upside remaining. Buried behind Jalen Sundell on the depth chart as he enters the final year of his rookie deal, the Seahawks could well be tempted to get something for him while they can — and he introduces one more variable into a position battle that could use it.
Bengals trade clears up DT logjam after Dexter Lawrence acquisition
What a difference a few months can make. The Bengals had among the worst defensive interior situations in the league last season, an absolute sieve against the run. But after acquiring both Dexter Lawrence and Jonathan Allen this spring, Cincy suddenly has more bodies than it knows what to do with — especially with BJ Hill making progress in his return from injury and TJ Slaton reportedly flashing in camp.
All of which could leave Jenkins as the odd man out. The 2024 second-round pick just hasn't taken much of a step forward over his first two years in the league, and while it's probably too soon to give up on him turning into an NFL starter, the Bengals are facing a roster crunch that needs to be resolved somehow. Why not try to entice a rebuilding team like the Raiders, which failed to address its need for a nose tackle in the draft and could have interest in sending a Day 3 pick in exchange for a flier on a still young player who arrived in the league with serious pedigree?
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