Cutdown day deadline has now passed. The Bengals have trimmed their roster down, and will now look to the waiver wire to potentially fill out a few more spots. As well, focus shifts to the formation of the 16 man practice squad, which will take place in the coming days.
This is what the initial roster looks like, as well as who was cut:
QB (2):
9. Joe Burrow
6. Jake Browning
RB (3):
30. Chase Brown
34. Samaje Perine
25. Tahj Brooks
WR (6):
1. Ja’Marr Chase
5. Tee Higgins
80. Andrei Iosivas
81. Jermaine Burton
82. Mitchell Tinsley
15. Charlie Jones
TE (5):
88. Mike Gesicki
89. Drew Sample
86. Noah Fant
87. Tanner Hudson
85. Cam Grandy
OT (3):
75. Orlando Brown
71. Amarius Mims
61. Cody Ford
G (3):
63. Dylan Fairchild
62. Lucas Patrick
74. Jalen Rivers
C (2):
64. Ted Karras
65. Matt Lee
DE (5):
91. Trey Hendrickson
58. Joseph Ossai
99. Myles Murphy
97. Shemar Stewart
96. Cam Sample
DT (6):
92. BJ Hill
98. TJ Slaton
90. Kris Jenkins
93. McKinnley Jackson
95. Howard Cross III
94. Eric Gregory
LB (5):
55. Logan Wilson
42. Oren Burks
44. Demetrius Knight
49. Barrett Carter
50. Shaka Heyward
CB (6):
29. Cam Taylor-Britt
23. Daxton Hill
20. DJ Turner
28. Josh Newton
24. Marco Wilson
38. DJ Ivey
S (4):
22. Geno Stone
27. Jordan Battle
26. Tycen Anderson
37. PJ Jules
Special Teams (3):
2. Evan McPherson (K)
8. Ryan Rehkow (P)
46. William Wagner (LS)
IR With Designation for Return (2):
33. Daijahn Anthony (S)
52. Cedric Johnson (DE)
PUP (1):
83. Erick All (TE)
Waived (30):
4. Desmond Ridder (QB)
10. Payton Thorne (QB)
36. Kendall Milton (RB)
32. Gary Brightwell (RB)
40. Quali Conley (RB)
18. Isaiah Williams (WR)
19. Kendric Pryor (WR)
17. Cole Burgess (WR)
16. Jamoi Mayes (WR)
12. Rashod Owens (WR)
14. Jordan Moore (WR)
84. Tanner McLachlan (TE) (waived/injured)
73. Andrew Stueber (OT)
77. Caleb Etienne (OT) (waived/injured)
67. Cordell Volson (G) (waived/injured)
60. Jaxson Kirkland (G)
68. Seth McLaughlin (C)
66. Andrew Raym (C)
51. Isaiah Thomas (DE)
56. Raymond Johnson (DE)
94. Eric Gregory (DT)
72. McTelvin Agim (DT)
45. Maema Njongmeta (LB)
59. Craig Young (LB)
21. Bralyn Lux (CB)
39. Lance Robinson (CB)
41. Nate Brooks (CB)
47. Shaquan Loyal (S)
43. Jaylen Key (S)
48. Cal Adomitis (LS)
Released (4):
32. Gary Brightwell (RB)
70. Taven Bryan (DT)
53. Joe Giles-Harris (LB)
35. Jalen Davis (CB)
Notes:
The first thing of interest is keeping 5 TE’s. Cam Grandy is the surprise inclusion here. But I say surprise and not shock. I thought there might not be room for him, but it has been known that the Bengals like his blocking. With Drew Sample set to hit free agency next offseason, they could be planning to keep Grandy as a cheaper blocking TE for next year and beyond. It seems like they didn’t want to risk losing him.
They went light on the offensive line. Devin Cochran and Andrew Coker were two guys I had making the team in my predictions. If they pass through waivers, perhaps one makes it back to the roster once Anthony and Johnson go on IR. Both are also candidates for the practice squad.
At DT, they went very heavy, but Taven Bryan was left off. He was cut, however, and not waived. In theory he could return at any time, and I would have thought maybe he would once the two guys go on IR. But I found keeping Gregory on the roster a little curious. I don’t think he would have been claimed, and Bryan brings more now. But if they intended on bringing back Bryan, I don’t think Gregory would have been kept on the roster. Also of note is that Gregory and Howard Cross III both being included means that two UDFA’s have made it at the same position. I do wonder if Bryan would come back in one of the veteran practice squad spots.
With Anthony on IR, PJ Jules made the team. Not super surprising, as he had a solid offseason. However, we could still see the Bengals add to the position via waivers, so Jules’ spot isn’t secure just yet.
On special teams, I was a bit surprised to see Wagner beat out Adomitis. It felt like they wanted to create a competition, but I thought it was for Adomitis to lose. I didn’t see any errors from either one in the preseason. Either Adomitis had some struggles in camp that weren’t caught publicly, or the team (Darrin Simmons, I suppose) was higher on Wagner than I had originally thought.
