At least for now, Xavien Howard will not be joining the Bengals.
Per Mike Garafolo of NFL Media, Cincinnati made Howard an offer after the free-agent defensive back worked out for the club on Monday. But the two sides were unable to come to an agreement, so Howard will continue to train at home and await his next opportunity.
Howard, 31, was released by the Dolphins in March and has not been with a team since. He missed time late last season with a foot injury, but sent a letter to NFL teams in April notifying them he’d been fully cleared for football activities.
A four-time Pro Bowler, Howard has recorded 29 career interceptions with 95 passes defensed. He’s played all 100 of his career games with the Dolphins, who selected him in the second round of the 2016 draft.
The Bengals also reportedly had a workout scheduled with running back Leonard Forunette on Monday.
The Bengals brought in some help at running back last week at the trading deadline and are looking at some more.
Per NFL Media, Cincinnati is working out Leonard Fournette on Monday.
Fournette, 29, has not been with a team this year. He spent time with the Bills last season, appearing in two games. He took 12 carries for 40 yards.
The No. 4 overall pick of the 2017 draft, Fournette played his first three seasons with the Jaguars before spending three seasons with Tampa Bay. He rushed for 300 yards with there touchdowns in the 2020 postseason, helping the Buccaneers win Super Bowl LV.
Cincinnati traded for Khalil Herbert last week after running back Zack Moss went down with a neck injury. Chase Brown leads the team with 521 rushing yards with five touchdowns.
At 4-6, the Bengals will play the Chargers on Sunday night in Week 11.
It’s been more than six months since veteran cornerback Xavien Howard told teams he had been cleared to return from a foot injury, but there’s been no news of any teams showing interest. Until today.
Howard will be in Cincinnati visiting the Bengals today, according to Mike Garafolo of NFL Network.
The 31-year-old Howard was a second-round draft pick of the Dolphins in 2016 and has played his entire NFL career in Miami. He’s been a first-team All-Pro once, a Pro Bowler four times and led the NFL in interceptions in both 2018 and 2020.
Howard missed the end of last season because of the foot injury but started every game he was healthy enough to play last year. If he’s able to return to his previous level, he could be a significant addition to the Bengals or some other team hoping to bolster its secondary down the stretch.
The NFL fined Raiders edge rusher Maxx Crosby $11,255 for unnecessary roughness in a Nov. 3 game against the Bengals.
With two minutes left in the first half, Crosby left before the snap and was unimpeded to the quarterback. The whistle blew, and Crosby continued with his hit on Joe Burrow.
The Bengals quarterback took a hard hit, with Crosby’s helmet glancing Burrow’s before Burrow hit the ground hard.
Crosby was penalized for offsides, which was declined, and for unnecessary roughness.
Crosby had three tackles and three quarterback hits in the 41-24 Raiders loss, and Burrow threw five touchdowns.
The Patriots got Yannick Ngakoue off waivers from the Ravens yesterday. But New England isn’t the only team that wanted him.
The Bengals also put in a waiver claim for Ngakoue, according to Field Yates of ESPN. The waiver order is the same as the draft order, with the worse team getting the higher priority, so the 2-7 Patriots got Ngakoue ahead of the 4-6 Bengals.
If Ngakoue had been given the choice, it’s entirely possible that he would have preferred the Bengals, because they have a better chance of making a run to the playoffs than the Patriots do. And Ngakoue would have had a choice if the Ravens had cut him two days earlier. But the Ravens waited until after the trade deadline to move on from Ngakoue, which meant he was subject to the NFL’s waiver system and had to go to the highest-priority team that put in a claim for him.
It wouldn’t be surprising if the Ravens deliberately waited until after the trade deadline to move on from Ngakoue specifically because they wouldn’t have wanted a team they could have to compete with for an AFC playoff berth to get him. Ngakoue going to the Patriots, who have almost no chance of making the playoffs, is better for the Ravens.
No teams besides the Patriots and Bengals put in claims for Ngakoue.
