ESPN Names Bengals Signing Trae Waynes The Team's Worst Mistake This Decade

CINCINNATI — Remember Trae Waynes?
ESPN's Bill Barnwell went down memory lane on Thursday afternoon while ranking each NFL team's worst mistakes this decade in order by severity 32-1. Cincinnati signing the former NFL cornerback to a three-year, $42 million deal took the 24th spot.
He never hit the 300-snap mark in Cincinnati (243 snaps in 2021, with 12 tackles and one pass break up).
"Waynes endured a disastrous time in Cincinnati," Barnwell wrote. "He missed the entire 2020 season after tearing a pectoral muscle during training camp. Upon his return to the lineup in 2021, he suffered a hamstring injury that pushed him back to injured reserve. The Bengals preferred other options by the time he returned, so the player with the largest hit on their 2021 cap didn't play a single defensive snap during their run to the Super Bowl. He was released after the season and appears to have retired."
The veteran was a rare miss in that free agency window for Cincinnati, but it was more than enough of a mistake to take this spot as the Bengals' worst move of the decade.
Waynes has not played a snap in the league since the 2024 season. Check out Barnwell's full ranking here.
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