The Carolina Panthers have poached LB Maema Njongmeta off of the Bengals practice squad.
Njongmeta originally signed with the Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2024. In camp and the preseason, his hard nosed style and ability to make plays in the trenches and on special teams caught the eye of the coaching staff. This led to him making the final roster.
This offseason, he faced competition from Shaka Heyward and Joe Giles-Harris. It was a tight battle, but the team opted to keep Heyward, who brings more athleticism and coverage ability.
After cut down day, Njongmeta was retained on the practice squad, where he had been up to this point. Now, he will get a shot with the Panthers on their active roster.
In some older news from last week, the New York Jets have signed WR Isaiah Williams off of the Bengals practice squad.
After their KR, Xavier Gipson, committed a fumble during a return in week 1, the Jets released him and were in search of a replacement.
Williams joined the Bengals in the later portion of the season last year, and got a good look as a returner. He came in this offseason looking to stick on the roster, and had a good camp and a decent enough preseason. However, the emergence of Mitchell Tinsley pushed him off the roster and onto the practice squad.
With the Jets offering up a roster spot, Williams decided to take the new opportunity. The Bengals could have prevented this by promoting him to their roster, but at the moment, having a 7th WR would not make sense, and thus, they let him go.
For now, the Bengals have a couple of open spots on the practice squad. We can expect them to be filled soon.
