How Thursday Night’s Preseason Finale Altered the Bengals’ 53-Man Roster

Update, 3:30 p.m.: The Cincinnati Bengals got a jump on cutting down to 53 this afternoon by releasing 11 players, including 2021 second-round pick Jackson Carman.

Here are the others:

• WR Hakeem Butler
• RB Noah Cain
• DE Andre Carter
• LB Aaron Casey
• S Michael Dowell
• CB Allan George
• WR Kwamie Lassiter II
• QB Rocky Lombardi
• G Eric Miller
• DT Joshua Pryor

CINCINNATI – NFL teams need to trim their rosters to 53 players by 4 p.m. Tuesday, but the Cincinnati Bengals essentially announced theirs Thursday night.

In the preseason finale against the Indianapolis Colts, there were 40 guys who didn’t play while watching from the sideline in street clothes.

With the exception of a couple of injuries – wide receiver Kendric Pryor, defensive tackle Domenique Davis and cornerbacks Lance Robinson and DJ Ivey II – those are the locks to make the roster.

Among those who did play, their participation told the story of where they stand.

Cincinnati Bengals Final 53-Man Roster Projection

Could a surprise choice have played his way onto the roster in the 27-14 loss?

How do the defensive line injuries to Myles Murphy and rookie McKinnley Jackson affect the decisions?

Let’s make one final projection for how the Bengals’ 53-man roster will look four days from now.

Quarterback (2)

Starter: Joe Burrow

Backup: Jake Browning

Cut: Logan Woodside, Rocky Lombardi

Analysis: This is clear-cut, even with Browning’s rib injury. Head coach Zac Taylor said he could play if needed, but they are holding him out of practice to allow it to fully heal.

Woodside may have played himself out of practice squad consideration the last two weeks against the Bears and Colts. The Bengals will explore other options, which could involve calling up old friend AJ McCarron.

The regular season starts NOW. pic.twitter.com/ZjtMtQZTD7

— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) August 23, 2024

Running Back (3)

Starter: Zack Moss

Starter Adjacent: Chase Brown

Backup: Trayveon Williams

Cut: Noah Cain, Elijah Collins

Analysis: Thursday night sure looked like Williams’ swan song with the team. He was still in the game in the fourth quarter and logged 73% of the snaps while getting 16 touches.

Taylor said Williams “deserved” the workload because of how long he’s been with the team and how few chances he’s had to play. What it really was: an audition.

Another old friend alert is in play at running back, with the Denver Broncos expected to cut fourth-string running back Samaje Perine and save $3 million.

Williams will be on the 53 on Tuesday, but there’s a good chance he’s somewhere else Wednesday.

Wide Receiver (6)

Starters: Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Andrei Iosivas

Backups: Charlie Jones, Trenton Irwin, Jermaine Burton

Cut: Kendric Pryor, Shedrick Jackson, Kwamie Lassiter II, Cole Burgess, Hakeem Butler

Analysis: Nothing has changed here since training camp began, other than Burton going from having a chance to be WR3 to falling to WR6.

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The rookie third-round pick still has a way to go to earn the trust of the coaches and Burrow, but he’s still a roster lock.

Tight End (4)

Starter: Mike Gesicki

Backups: Drew Sample, Erick All, Tanner Hudson

Cut: Tanner McLachlan, Cam Grandy

Analysis: There is some thought the Bengals could use the two openings created by their IR return designations on defense to keep a fifth tight end in McLachlan rather than expose him to waivers.

But every year, there is talk about risking a guy being claimed, and rarely do players the Bengals cut get claimed before they can bring them back to the practice squad. It happened with Pryor in 2022, but there aren’t any others in recent years.

They’ll take their chances on letting a sixth-round tight end hit the wire. It’s one of the reasons they barely played him Thursday night, to avoid him putting any great reps on tape.

Offensive Line (10)

Starters: Orlando Brown Jr., Cordell Volson, Ted Karras, Alex Cappa, Trent Brown

Backups: Amarius Mims, Cody Ford, Jaxson Kirkland, Matt Lee, Trey Hill

IR: D’Ante Smith

Cut: Jackson Carman, Devin Cochran, Nate Gilliam, Eric Miller

Analysis: Hill, the 2021 sixth-round pick who has played a grand total of 215 offensive snaps in three seasons, is the beneficiary of the new rule that allows teams to place up to two players on IR before the 53-man cutpff and still bring them back when healthy, which is what the Bengals are expected to do with rookie third-round pick McKinnley Jackson.

Though Hill has lost his backup center job to rookie seventh-rounder Lee, he still appears to be slightly ahead of Gilliam for the next interior spot.

If the Bengals decide not to take the risk with McLachlan at tight end, Hill would be the odd man out.

Defensive Tackle (5)

Starters: Sheldon Rankins, B.J. Hill

Backups: Kris Jenkins, Zach Carter, Jay Tufele

IR-Return: McKinnley Jackson

Cut: Carlos Davis, Domenique Davis, Travis Bell, Josh Pryor,

Analysis: Putting Jackson on IR-Return on Tuesday means he will miss at least the first four games.

When it comes to replacing him as the only true nose tackle on the 53, it will come down to Davis and Tufele.

Davis flashed Thursday night, whipping Colts starting center Ryan Kelly to get into the backfield for a tackle for loss while also adding a couple of quarterback hits.

But Davis has only been with the team for two weeks, while Tufele has been on the team since 2021 and has been solid when called upon. He missed a couple of weeks in camp, but he’s healthy and making plays again.

Edge Rusher (5)

Starters: Trey Hendrickson, Sam Hubbard

Backups: Myles Murphy, Joseph Ossai, Cedric Johnson

IR: Cam Sample

Cut: Justin Blazek, Andre Carter

Analysis: Murphy avoids the IR-Return spot with his MCL sprain. The diagnosis of 4-6 weeks means he could only miss two games if he’s back closer to four weeks (he went down Tuesday, so four weeks would be Sept. 17, two days after the Week 2 game in Kansas City.

If the team puts Murphy on IR-Return, the ripple effect would occur at another position.

Linebacker (5)

Starters: Logan Wilson, Germaine Pratt

Backups: Joe Bachie, Akeem Davis-Gaither, Maema Njongmeta

Cut: Devin Harper, Shaka Heyward, Aaron Casey

Analysis: Njongmeta, the undrafted rookie out of Wisconsin, has done more than enough to secure the No. 5 spot, including playing well on special teams the last two weeks after never being asked to do it in high school or college.

Cornerback (6)

Starters: Cam Taylor-Britt, Dax Hill, Mike Hilton

Backups: DJ Turner II, Josh Newton, Jalen Davis

Cut: Allan George, Lance Robinson, Nate Brooks

Reserve/PUP: DJ Ivey II

Analysis: Davis is on the slipperiest bubble spot on the roster, especially with the Bengals starting to work Newton, the fifth-round rookie, into the slot role almost exclusively.

But Davis adds special teams talent and trust, and while Newton, Turner, or Hill could play the slot if Hilton were to get injured, they would likely turn to Davis if something happened early in the season.

Safety (5)

Starters: Geno Stone, Vonn Bell

Backups: Jordan Battle, Daijahn Anthony, Tycen Anderson

Cut: PJ Jules, Michael Dowell

Analysis: Anderson could almost be included in the group below. He’s never played on defense, but he was Darrin Simmons’ top special teams player last year before tearing his ACL at San Francisco.

Would Anderson get claimed if the Bengals tried to sneak him onto the practice squad? Maybe.

Is the risk worth it? Probably not.

The Bengals haven’t put five safeties on the initial 53-man roster since 2013, but Anthony, the sixth-round rookie, has earned his spot, and Anderson is too valuable on special teams.

Specialist (3)

Kicker: Evan McPherson

Punter: Brad Robbins

Long Snapper: Cal Adomitis

Cut: Ryan Rehkow

Analysis: The rookie with the big leg also has big variance.

He was all over the map Thursday night when he had a chance to sew up the job while Robbins mends from a hip flexor injury, booming a punt into the end zone for a touchback, shanking a 29-yarder, driving a dangerous low-hanger but also booming a 56-yarder and adding two nice touch punts inside the 10-yard line.

If the Bengals feel Robbins can be ready to punt in the opener, he’ll take the spot.