Final Cincinnati Bengals 53-Man Roster Projection Ahead of Tuesday’s Cuts

Another preseason has come and gone without the Cincinnati Bengals offensive starters seeing any sort of relevant action. And while that plan may not lend itself to much excitement or production, it does bode well for evaluation.

For a team with so many starters returning from back-to-back AFC Championship Game appearances and AFC North division titles, this summer was always going to be about bolstering the depth.

Saturday night’s 21-19 loss at Washington crystalized a few decisions and provided the final data points in a couple of others that will be hashed out inside the meeting rooms at Paycor Stadium over the course of the next 48 hours.

With a few reversals from last week’s projected 53-man roster, here’s my final projection for what the group will look like come 4 p.m. Tuesday, along with the annual disclaimer that what you see Tuesday probably won’t be the final iteration after waiver claims and other roster gymnastics are completed in the ensuing days.

Cincinnati Bengals 53-Man Roster Projection | Offense

Quarterback (2)

Starter: Joe Burrow
Backup: Jake Browning
Practice Squad Prospect: Trevor Siemian, Reid Sinnett

Analysis: It would have taken a heck of an effort for Siemian to overcome the deficit Saturday night. Instead, Browning cemented his spot before the veteran even took the field, leading the Bengals on an opening touchdown drive and another promising one before a facemask penalty created a 3rd-and-18 obstacle.

The question will be whether Siemian is willing to stick around on the practice squad. If he’s not, would the Bengals extend an invitation to Sinnett, who saw his first preseason reps and led a touchdown drive, to stay in the building?

Running Back (3)

Starters: Joe Mixon
Backups: Chase Brown, Chris Evans
Practice Squad Prospects: Trayveon Williams, Jacob Saylors, Calvin Tyler Jr.

Analysis: Director of player personnel Duke Tobin said on the television broadcast that Brown “is developing before our eyes.” The rookie had his best performance yet, and that, coupled with Chris Evans battling an injury that kept him out of practice this week, is enough to elevate Brown to RB2.

Williams hasn’t practiced since spraining his ankle Aug. 2, and the Bengals could roll the dice on him clearing waivers and returning to the practice squad in order to go heavier at receiver and tight end.

Wide Receiver (7)

Starters: Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd
Backups: Trenton Irwin, Charlie Jones, Andrei Iosivas, Stanley Morgan
Bubble: Stanley Morgan, Trent Taylor, Kwamie Lassiter II
Practice Squad Prospects: Shedrick Jackson, Malachi Carter, Mac Hippenhammer

Analysis: It felt as though six was the right number for most of camp, but Morgan is just too valuable on special teams. He leads the team in special-teams snaps since 1999 with 855, which ranks tied for 53rd in the league. The chances of him not getting claimed by another team would be slim without some sort of handshake, wink-wink deal ahead of cuts, which could be a possibility.

Tight Ends (4)

Starter: Irv Smith Jr.
Backups: Drew Sample, Mitchell Wilcox, Tanner Hudson
Bubble: Devin Asiasi
Practice Squad Prospects: Nick Bowers, Christian Trahan

Analysis: Wilcox came off the physically unable to perform (PUP) list on Monday and played 17 snaps against the Commanders. Most telling are Zac Taylor’s comments about the third-year player during Thursday’s news conference:

“With Mitch, we’ve invested three years of time and energy and developing him as a player. And he’s a guy that you really enjoy seeing have the success that he’s had, having been here and worked from where he was Day 1. He knows where he was in my eyes on Day 1 three years ago, and to where he’s worked up to, you’re proud of a guy like that.”

MORE: ‘It Was a Kick in the Gut’ — TE Mitch Wilcox Happy To Return From Surprise Surgery for Day 15 of Bengals Camp

Hudson’s production speaks for itself with eight catches on 11 targets for 71 yards in two preseason games. He’s the best receiving option if anything were to happen to Smith.

Offensive Line (9)

Starters: LT Orlando Brown Jr., LG Cordell Volson, C Ted Karras, RG Alex Cappa, RT Jonah Williams
Backups: Max Scharping, D’Ante Smith, Cody Ford, Jackson Carman
Bubble: Trey Hill, Hakeem Adeniji
PUP: La’el Collins
Practice Squad Prospects: Jaxson Kirkland, Nate Gilliam, Ben Brown
IR: Devin Cochran

Analysis: Scharping appears to have cemented himself as the backup center ahead of Hill, and he’s played 62 career games at guard. Ford and Carman can also play guard, so Hill is the odd man out as the Bengals go with nine here instead of 10 to keep Morgan as a seventh receiver.

Smith left Saturday’s game with a shoulder injury, so that will be worth monitoring the next few days.

Cincinnati Bengals 53-Man Roster Projection | Defense

Defensive Line (10)

Starters: Trey Hendrickson, DJ Reader, B.J. Hill, Sam Hubbard
Backups: Joseph Ossai, Myles Murphy, Cam Sample, Zach Carter, Josh Tupou, Jay Tufele
Bubble: Raymond Johnson III, Jeff Gunter
Practice Squad Prospects: Domenique Davis, Owen Carney, Tautala Pesefea Jr.
IR: Devonnsha Maxwell

Analysis: Ossai’s ankle injury is going to be the biggest variable here. Taylor said it might just be a sprain, but the team will know more later today. Johnson has not only made multiple splash plays in the preseason, he had three alone Saturday night.

It still feels as though someone in this group could be traded rather than cut, creating an opening for Johnson. If the Bengals don’t leverage their abundance of talent here, Johnson could be added to the 53 on Wednesday if Ossai has to go on IR, which would mean missing at least three games. Or Johnson could stick Tuesday if the team decides it only needs Tupou or Tufele to back up Reader.

Linebacker (5)

Starters: Logan Wilson, Germaine Pratt
Backups: Akeem Davis-Gaither, Joe Bachie, Markus Bailey
Bubble: Keandre Jones
Practice Squad Prospect: Jaylen Moody, Shaka Heyward, Tyler Murray

Analysis: This hasn’t changed since my first 53-man projection before camp began. The group is set.

Cornerbacks (6)

Starters: Chidobe Awuzie, Cam Taylor-Britt, Mike Hilton
Backups: DJ Turner II, Jalen Davis, DJ Ivey
Bubble: Allan George, Sidney Jones IV
Practice Squad Prospect: Marvell Tell III

MORE: Cincinnati Bengals CB Chidobe Awuzie Is Back

Analysis: Ivey, the rookie seventh-round pick, was outplaying Jones even before the veteran suffered a hamstring that has kept him out more than two weeks. The Bengals gave George a look in the slot against the Packers, but Davis had a great camp and cemented himself as a lock to be Hilton’s backup as the nickel.

Safeties (4)

Starters: Nick Scott, Dax Hill
Backups: Jordan Battle, Tycen Anderson
Practice Squad Prospect: Michael Thomas, Larry Brooks, Yusuf Corker

Analysis: The writing was on the wall for Thomas even before the 11-year veteran gave his jersey to Anderson after Saturday night’s game. The only question is whether he’ll accept a spot on the practice squad or call it a career and focus on his work for the NFLPA Executive Committee.

Special Teams (3)

Starters: K Evan McPherson, P Brad Robbins, LS Cal Adomitis
Practice squad prospect: Drue Chrisman

Analysis: One of the luxuries of a 16-man practice squad is keeping specialists around, as Cincinnati did last year with Adomitis, which worked to their advantage when Clark Harris suffered a season-ending injury in the opener. Given that Robbins is a rookie, and you never really know how a guy is gonna react when the games count for real, keeping Chrisman around could be an option.