CINCINNATI — Sometimes timing is everything. And with the Bengals, the time couldn’t have been better to scoop up K.J. Henry off the waiver wire following this week’s initial cutdown to 53 players.
The Washington Commanders, a team the Bengals will face on Monday night, Sept. 23 to wrap up Week 3, released the 23-year-old edge out of Clemson.
The Bengals were certainly in the market for an edge after the multi-faceted Cam Sample tore his Achilles in the first week of camp and is gone for the season. Myles Murphy, the first-round pick in 2023, suffered a knee injury on Aug. 20 in a joint practice with the Colts.
The Bengals were down to Trey Hendrickson, Sam Hubbard, Joseph Ossai and Cedric Johnson, the sixth-rounder out of Ole Miss. They cut Justin Blazek and were down to four on the edge.
The Bengals feel fortunate to have scooped up a fifth-round pass rushing edge talent from the 2023 draft. He’s certainly familiar to Bengals staff and players. He played with Murphy at Clemson. He worked out with defensive line coach Marion Hobby. He claims to be a better basketball hooper than Tee Higgins (another Clemson star).
“They’re great. Definitely having those guys does help,” Henry said. “To have Tee Higgins, to also play with. I’m the better hooper by the way, but they’re great. Definitely, they were some of the first guys that hit up when I was here. I went to dinner with (them). So, brothers for life and they’ve been helping me adjust.”
“He’s a guy our scouts have liked,” head coach Zac Taylor told me. “Coach (Marion) Hobby has liked. Marion’s known him for a bit now. He played with Myles in college, I just think it fit us at the right time with the right person and we were excited to get the claim there.
That’s the Bengals side of things.
But the real value may come in how much of a point Henry has to prove after being cut just one year after being tabbed as Washington fifth-round selection in 2023.
The 6-4, 255-pound edge played in 10 games (three starts) as a rookie last season for Washington and totaled 19 tackles, 1.5 sacks and two passes defended. He was hardly considered a bust.
But he did have the misfortune of being on a roster this summer with the likes of Clelin Farrell, Dorance Armstrong, rookie Javante Jean-Baptiste and Dante Fowler Jr. Still, you would think a healthy Henry would have a place on the roster.
“I’m not going to lie, very, very surprised,” Henry said. “But it’s okay. It’s a blessing. I’ll lean on my faith. I’ve been believing (in myself) my whole life but definitely (this week). I’m where I need to be. So glad I’m here and I’m glad where I’m appreciated and excited to get going here.”
While he can set an edge, Henry doesn’t feel that’s the only part of his game that can make an immediate impact for the Bengals.
“I like to think I’m all-around defensive end,” Henry said. “And I take pride in obviously, getting to the quarterback, but I ain’t good enough to just play one down. I need to try and play all three. So that’s what I work to do, but definitely trying to grow and all aspects of my game.”
Mike Hilton had some choice words for reporters standing on the sidewalk waiting for Bengals to make their way to practice on a steamy Thursday. “Y’all are something else,” he noted as the group was waiting for Ja’Marr Chase to make his entrance. (He eventually did in shorts and a t-shirt).
The point Hilton was trying to make was one of empathy for his brother-in-arms that is not practicing, presumably until his gets a contract extension from the Bengals.
“Because y’all are,” Hilton replied when asked why he made the comment while walking to practice. “Y’all know the situation. Sometimes you just got to let things be what they be. It wasn’t a direct shot at y’all, but it was.”
What would Mike Hilton the reporter suggest?
“Leave the man alone,” he answered. “He’s a grown man. He’s handling his business his own way. Y’all wouldn’t want anyone else butting in on your business. It’s not a shot at y’all but let him handle his own.”
With Brandon Aiyuk agreeing to a four-year, $120 million deal on Thursday, Chase is the only major wide receiver still awaiting an eligible contract extension before his tag comes due next offseason. This offseason has already seen the likes of Amon-Ra St. Brown, Justin Jefferson, CeeDee Lamb and Jaylen Waddle receive massive 9-figure contract extensions.
Chase returned to “sitting-in” on Wednesday and Thursday after practicing Sunday and Monday. He is presumably holding out for a deal that is in the neighborhood of former LSU teammate Justin Jefferson’s $140 million, four-year deal with $110 million guaranteed, including a $36.9 million signing bonus.
