Bengals sent wrong deadline messages with Shemar Stewart, Zac Taylor

The Cincinnati Bengals ’ embarrassing public failure to execute a trade they agreed to at the NFL deadline, somehow looping in Trey Hendrickson’s name in the process, goes beyond the sheer silliness of it all.  Now, apparent ineptitude by the Bengals front office hangs guys like Zac Taylor and Shemar Stewart out to dry.  For those out of the loop, briefly: The Bengals agreed to trade for Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Arnold Ebiketie before backing out of the agreement due to not understanding a compensatory draft pick rule that would have cost them an extra pick in the deal.  The aftermath? Another hit to credibility and poor messages sent publicly.  Shemar Stewart, Zac Taylor take a hit Barring a shocker that sends Duke Tobin to the podium on Wednesday or later in the week to explain what happened, the Bengals are going to throw head coach Zac Taylor to the wolves.  Taylor, who had no major involvement in the trade deadline disaster, will once again be asked to shield the organization from criticism and explain things he can’t.  Taylor has plenty of problems and fair criticisms to handle before making up for the silliness going on above him in the organization.  And then there’s Shemar Stewart. The former first-round pick has been a healthy scratch in recent weeks because he can’t crack the fourth or fifth spot in the EDGE rotation. With Cashius Howell on injured reserve, the team attempted to trade for a veteran who can play in front of him. That trade fell through. He’s left potentially with a chance at playing time, but with the understanding and possible questions that the team preferred to get someone else out there (we can argue “roles” and “positions” but the questions and themes will stick regardless).  Bengals send another poor message The Bengals are going to have a tough time ever fully rehabbing their image nationally and it’s antics like these that make them hard to defend when the non-local portion of the NFL starts criticizing them.  These Bengals spent hours, if not days, finding the right trade target, partner and parameters. They then agreed to it, only to very publicly back out because they didn’t understand rules. One report said the Bengals were “apologizing” to the Eagles while backing out of the deal, implying that the franchise in Philadelphia probably isn’t very happy with them.  Here’s the kicker: The Bengals are worth billions. Their stubbornly small operation didn’t understand rules that hardcore fans on Twitter did. What message does that send?  And what message just got sent to the locker room? The Bengals are “all-in” and, clearly, didn’t think the current roster was good enough, at least at one position. “It’s a business” quotes will follow from the players asked, but there was some level of agreement throughout the organization that the defense wasn’t good enough and it was worth sacrificing at least one of their precious draft picks to seek out an upgrade.  This might feel like a small thing for the Bengals. And they have done a great job modernizing during the Joe Burrow era while improving their image. But this is a good example of just how quickly that goodwill earned can be taken right back when a franchise feels too old-school to function 100 percent properly in today’s NFL.