CINCINNATI -- The Cincinnati Bengals operate in a way unique to many other teams. They rarely sign free agents and even more rarely make trades, with five years passing between a Bengals trade involving players.
This offseason, the Bengals acquired defensive end Chris Smith for a conditional draft pick -- the first non-draft-related trade they had made since sending linebacker Keith Rivers to the Giants for a 2012 fifth-round pick (which they later used to select safety George Iloka).
And midseason trades? Most of the time, forget about it.
There have been some exceptions.