Trae Waynes

[Dr.Z]

(01-19-2022, 10:54 PM)StoneTheCrow Wrote: I was big into DFS when he was a Viking. I actually subscribed to a tout site (dumb, I know) and Waynes was a plus-matchup target for opposing receivers week in and week out. And it worked. I wasn’t thrilled with the signing from the jump.

lol , I used to do IDP FF analysis and Waynes used to be a good IDP because of getting picked on which inflated his tackle numbers (to be fair he improved a bit after those days but yeah, what a disappointment )

[Sled21]

(01-19-2022, 09:10 PM)HarleyDog Wrote: I’m going to use a term I absolutely hate. Wayne’s is garbage.

That's a little harsh. I think the Bengals need to cut bait on the man because he obviously can't stay healthy, but it's not like he is out there stinking up the place. He's just not out there. No injury history coming here, just snake bitten once he got here. (I do still think he knew he had that torn pec when he signed, but that's conjecture) It's just a shame it did not work out.

[*SHRacerX*]

(01-19-2022, 11:54 PM)ah5 Wrote: Apple is better, let that sink in.

Sent from my BE2026 using Tapatalk

Apple is better NOW.  That is a testament to the coaches.  The Bengals FO signed him for quality depth, and the coaches got him to be a MUCH better CB now than I think he has likely ever been in his career.  

Early in the season, you could see the Waynes injury as why the Bengals would not go far this year, but the coaches didn't give up on Apple and now he has actually graded higher than Chido in a few games.

That being said, while Apple is a better option than Waynes, I don't care what PFF says, Chido has been the best player on defense not named Hendrickson and was an absolute steal of a signing.  If you look back at the games he has had against some of the better WRs around, he has been damn impressive.  He's also a force as a run stuffer. 

[Sled21]

(01-20-2022, 09:12 AM)SHRacerX Wrote: Apple is better NOW.  That is a testament to the coaches.  The Bengals FO signed him for quality depth, and the coaches got him to be a MUCH better CB now than I think he has likely ever been in his career.  

Early in the season, you could see the Waynes injury as why the Bengals would not go far this year, but the coaches didn't give up on Apple and now he has actually graded higher than Chido in a few games.

That being said, while Apple is a better option than Waynes, I don't care what PFF says, Chido has been the best player on defense not named Hendrickson and was an absolute steal of a signing.  If you look back at the games he has had against some of the better WRs around, he has been damn impressive.  He's also a force as a run stuffer. 

Yes, and both Chido and Hilton are killing it this year. 

[*SHRacerX*]

(01-20-2022, 09:15 AM)Sled21 Wrote: Yes, and both Chido and Hilton are killing it this year. 

Agreed.  Hilton had a huge TD-saving tackle against the Raiders as well.  He's been money all year.  

[jj22]

I saw him run on the field to celebrate at the end of the game.

Maybe we can trade him but who is going to pay him his final year of his salary?

[NATI BENGALS]

He will cut you down on the outside. Could be a key player stopping the Titans run game this week

[Gdale_Bengal]

(01-19-2022, 08:26 PM)NUGDUKWE Wrote: I was thinking of Trae before the playoffs and hoping that he could finally get a chance to contribute and show what he could or couldn't do on the big stage.

I was a little disappointed he didn't have any defensive snaps. But we won and Eli Apple has more than earned his spot this season so I can't complain.

But this game coming up is the exact reason I would've liked to have gotten him some reps. The Titans are gonna run the ball and they have run well with or without Henry. Trae is known more for his tackling than coverage skills and I think he could be a vital part of the defense this week.
I know a lot of fans have written him off and rightfully so. But thinking this offseason I think we need to add pieces to improve our team while adding depth. We were very lucky this season from a health stand point and letting Trae walk will free up money and also creates a need on a long list of needs. This playoff game might give us an idea if he's worth the obvious risk of keeping him for his last year or not

You must not like Free Money Waynes if you want him to play. He’s got this new injury called everything hurts so I get free paychecks z

[*bengalfan74*]

The Bengals have had a ton of success in free agency lately however Waynes was a giant swing and a miss. Cut bait and run.

[muskiesfan]

I said this in another thread, but I think we should keep Waynes unless we can bring back Apple and 1 of Hargreaves/Flowers. I understand that we can draft a corner, but Apple, Hargreaves, Flowers, and Wilson are all free agents after this season. Throw in Jessie Bates and Ricardo Allen and we need depth at DB. If we lose all of them and Waynes, that's a lot to bring in on the DB side. A lot of this rides on Apple. Is he willing to come back or does he want to test free agency? If he's willing to come back I hope we re-sign him before free agency. Then we can release Waynes and be more aggressive in free agency.

I understand Waynes hasn't contributed much and has been constantly injured, but if we don't bring back any of the other DBs I just don't see a reason to cut him and make that position group even thinner. If they can re-sign Apple and Hargreaves then we can cut Waynes and still save money. I don't think Apple and Hargreaves would eat up the entire $11m we would save cutting Waynes. In that case, we could cut Waynes, keep Apple and Hargreaves and still run into free agency with around $60m to play with. If not, we keep Waynes and still have $58m or so to play with.

I'm over Waynes as much as anyone else. With the amount of free agent DBs we have, I don't think it would be smart to cut him without at least having a couple re-signed moving forward.

[Sled21]

I can't see Apple wanting to go elsewhere, he is by far playing his best football he has ever played here for Lou and the DB coaches.

[motoarch]

Bad signings happen. The guy didn't want to flop. Cant hold it against him personally. You think he's happy things ended up this way?

Let him go and move on.

This board spends way too much time and way too many threads on this guy.

Things must be pretty damn good in Bengals world because this seems to be the biggest issue the board has to complain about.

How good does that feel?

[Isaac Curtis: The Real #85]

(01-19-2022, 08:56 PM)michaelsean Wrote: I know I saw him in the practice squad game. How didn’t he get any snaps against the Raiders?

I believe Apple & Awuzie played 100% of the snaps for the boundary corners. Waynes is a boundary corner, he can't/doesn't play inside. 

Hilton missed some snaps with a knock. Hargreaves replaced him. Likely Phillips would have if healthy. Or Davis. We put Flowers in with his size to try and cover Waller. 

[Isaac Curtis: The Real #85]

In terms of going forward...

1) Yes, Waynes is a backup at this point.
2) Yes, cutting him saves $11 million in cap space. But..
3) Apple is a FA and I hear Awuzie can opt out? I wouldn't cut Waynes until Chido and Apple are back in the fold. Further.
4) We don't necessarily need that $11 million in cap space. Not yet anyway. We have $60 million already. If we get Apple & Awuzie back, AND we have signed so many FAs that we need that $11 million to sign another quality guy, then yes, release him. Until then? Nah, keep him for depth. I don't want to spend $11 mil just because we have it. I want to spend it on quality contributors.

[Luvnit2]

It amazes me when some fans get so butt hurt over a player getting hurt and then losing his job. I see words like garbage used to describe a human being. Maybe those who love the personal attacking should look in the mirror and the rage you spew.
For me he is a Bengal and I hope if he sees the field he helps us win

We all discuss cutting him in 2022, now is not the time. ZT has built a culture of no blame in his locker room; I dream but would love to see a culture of no blame in this forum