A day after announcing the 53 man roster, the Bengals have announced the initial version of their practice squad. The following players have been included:
- RB, Jacques Patrick
- RB, Pooka Williams
- RB, Trayveon Williams
- WR, Trent Taylor
- TE, Thaddeus Moss
- TE, Mason Schreck
- G, Keaton Sutherland
- DE, Noah Spence
- DT, Renell Wren
- LB, Joe Bachie
- LB, Keandre Jones
- CB, Winston Rose
- CB, Tony Brown
- S, Trayvon Henderson
- P, Drue Chrisman
Each team is allowed to keep 16 players on the practice squad. The Bengals currently have 15, meaning they can make one more addition.
The team does not currently have a QB on the practice squad. Kyle Shurmur was the team’s 3rd QB in camp, but it is possible the Bengals look for someone with more upside to stash.
The Bengals had a high waiver priority for another season and, so far, they have made two claims after final cuts.
They have claimed CB Nick McCloud off waivers from the Buffalo Bills, and DE Wyatt Ray off waivers from the Tennessee Titans.
McCloud is a rookie free agent out of Notre Dame. He was signed by Buffalo after the draft. Ray was originally a UDFA in 2019. He has spent time with the Browns, Texans, Bills, Jets, and Titans. The Titans are the only team with whom he has spent time on the active roster.
To make room for these claims, the Bengals have waived WR Trent Irwin, and released WR Mike Thomas.
It is somewhat of a head scratcher to see two WR’s cut for two defensive players. Especially after how impressive Irwin had been this offseason.
That being said, there has been some speculation that Trae Waynes and Khalid Kareem could be placed on IR in the coming days. That would leave room for one or both to return. Assuming Irwin does not get claimed, that is.
In other news, the Bengals have had two of their final cuts claimed off waivers by other teams.
The Carolina Panthers have claimed G Michael Jordan. Jordan was one of the more notable cuts made by the Bengals. He had been a starter the last couple of years and had received a lot of first team reps in camp, as well. The Bengals reportedly tried to trade him, but their attempts were unsuccessful.
K Austin Seibert has also been claimed. He is heading to the Detroit Lions. Seibert was battling for his job this summer, but it was always unlikely that he would crack the Bengals roster after the team selected Evan McPherson in the 5th round. However, he impressed enough to earn a spot elsewhere.
Funny enough, Seibert goes to the team that just cut former Bengals K, Randy Bullock. This marks the second straight year that Seibert takes over for Bullock, after he did so with the Bengals last year.