The Cincinnati Bengals acting as buyers at the NFL trade deadline is about one of the rarest things possible leaguewide.

Yet…a new report suggests we might be there.

According to The Athletic’s Dianna Russini, the Bengals are on the hunt to act as buyers at the trade deadline:

Surprise! The team that has only acquired two players via trade in 52 years is looking to do some shopping. This isn’t the Bengals’ style, but they have strong belief in this team and intend to get back to, at least, the AFC Championship game. Despite sitting at 3-5, Cincinnati has been poking around in search of a cornerback and a defensive lineman to get defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo some help. Edge rusher Trey Hendrickson is seen as the only threat on this Cincy defense. Also: I was told they are not trading wideout Tee Higgins.

Take this one with a massive grain of salt, strictly due to the franchise’s history when it comes to the trade deadline.

That said, it is pretty obvious to almost anyone that the Bengals are in serious danger of wasting borderline MVP play from Joe Burrow. At 3-5, though, the team remains in the playoff hunt in the messy AFC.

Target areas for the Bengals, if acting as buyers, would include pass-rush help, offensive tackle depth, and secondary help.

Even a small move to add help would register as aggressive for the Bengals, yet send a signal to fans and the locker room that the front office is willing to do whatever it takes to win.

As we’ve already noted though, suffering an upset at the hands of the Raiders could mean the team acts as sellers at the trade deadline.