The CBS Sports NFL reporter who quoted an anonymous general manager over the weekend as saying it was "a waste of time to call (the Cincinnati Bengals)" in advance of Tuesday's trade deadline criticized the Bengals on Wednesday for their inactivity as contenders pursued A.J. Green and others, in addition to the timing of benching long-time starting quarterback Andy Dalton.

Here's some of what Jason La Canfora had to say about the statement the Bengals made Tuesday:

The winless team that could have dominated the 2019 deadline and used it as a badly-needed springboard to an obvious rebuild, instead did absolutely nothing to address its litany of needs besides benching the very player who should have been a vital cog in the roster overhaul it is trying to pretend isn't looming. Rather than make any of the half dozen of no-brainer trades screaming to be executed, the Bengals instead chose Tuesday to bench their $16M-a-year quarterback. They made an uncomfortable transition that clearly connotes that the organization must start retooling around a young QB (whether Ryan Finley or via an upcoming top-five draft pick), and then made no pretense of acknowledging the retooling part. Instead, they sat out the deadline, despite being the team with the most coveted assets, by far, and the most to gain, by far, and, at 0-8 and already playing to an empty stadium, nothing to lose. They weren't interested. No reason to even try to make a deal. Heck, some key members of the Brown family were on vacation in Switzerland (primary owner Mike Brown himself was back in Cincinnati) as calls were made around the league on the last day to make deals this year.

La Canfora reported earlier that other NFL teams were frustrated that the Bengals weren't willing to engage in trade talks for veteran players like A.J. Green, Geno Atkins, Carlos Dunlap, Tyler Eifert and Dre Kirkpatrick.

Dalton said earlier Wednesday that he doesn't agree with head coach Zac Taylor's decision to bench him, and Green said the Bengals would not be 0-8 if he hadn't missed all eight games as he recovers from ankle surgery.

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