Cincinnati Bengals 53-Man Roster Projection: Where Things Stand Ahead of Preseason Finale
CINCINNATI — The Bengals have two practices and one preseason game left before they have to trim their roster down to 53-players. Saturday's game in Washington is important for a lot of guys hoping to make the team.
Here's our latest 53-man roster projection, including a bold prediction in the offensive line room:
Quarterback (2): Joe Burrow, Jake Browning
Trevor Siemain and Browning have struggled, but Browning has been able to run the offense at a higher level and played better against the Falcons in Week 2.
If he can finish out this week strong, there's no reason why he shouldn't get the nod over Siemian, who has made some questionable decisions throughout camp, despite being the experienced veteran.
Running Back (4): Joe Mixon, Chase Brown, Trayveon Williams, Chris Evans
This is unchanged from last week. Evans continues to impress coaches and appears to have secured a roster spot. Williams is dealing with an ankle injury and is hoping to return to practice as early as Wednesday. Keeping four running backs makes sense since they still aren't sure how things are going to work behind Mixon.
Wide Receiver (7): Ja'Marr Chase, Tyler Boyd, Tee Higgins, Charlie Jones, Trenton Irwin, Andrei Iosivas and Stanley Morgan Jr.
Irwin has had a great camp and is locked in as the fourth wide receiver behind Chase, Boyd and Higgins. Iosivas has been a bright spot during camp and Jones flashed plenty before tweaking his shoulder in practice. Jones will be the starting punt returner as long as he can play through the injury.
Some may be surprised that Morgan made it, but he's a special teams ace and likely a roster lock.
Tight End (3): Irv Smith Jr., Drew Sample and Mitch Wilcox
Smith and Sample are roster locks. Tanner Hudson gets edged out by Wilcox.
The Bengals activated him earlier this week for a reason. Wilcox will likely make the team and they'll try to sneak Devin Asiasi and Hudson onto the practice squad.
Offensive Line (9): Orlando Brown Jr., Jonah Williams, Ted Karras, Alex Cappa, Cordell Volson, D'Ante Smith, Hakeem Adeniji, Cody Ford and Max Scharping
This is by far the deepest offensive line room the Bengals have had in years. Williams grabbed ahold of the starting right tackle job, as expected.
What does that mean for Jackson Carman? Well, with La'el Collins (ACL) improving daily, the Bengals could shop him and see if the former second-round pick has any trade value. A deal ahead of cut-down day is unlikely, but not unprecedented.
Cincinnati traded Billy Price for B.J. Hill in 2021 and also landed Reggie Nelson under similar circumstances in 2010.
Smith has had a great camp and the team likes what Adeniji brings to both tackle spots. One of those two could get cut if the Bengals end up keeping Carman. In this scenario, they trade the second-round pick. I think he'll be on the roster if they can't find the right deal.
Scharping and Ford have earned the trust and confidence of the staff as backup interior lineman. Scharping hasn't played center in the past, but he's learned it in camp and likely shown enough to beat out Trey Hill for one of the final roster spots.
Defensive End (5): Sam Hubbard, Trey Hendrickson, Joseph Ossai, Cam Sample and Myles Murphy
Tarell Basham's injury (ankle) makes this a bit easier for Cincinnati. It's a crowded room, but the veteran has missed most of camp. These five were always roster locks.
Jeff Gunter has played well in camp and in the preseason and he'd make a lot of NFL rosters, but this is one of the deepest defensive line rooms in the league.
Defensive Tackle (5): DJ Reader, B.J. Hill, Zach Carter, Josh Tupou and Jay Tufele
Reader, Hill, Carter and Tupou are all safe. Tufele has flashed enough to earn the fifth and final spot. Domenique Davis is one of multiple guys that have flashed.
Would they trade Tupou to address a weakness? Unlikely. He's plays a big role in their rotation.
Linebacker (5): Germaine Pratt, Logan Wilson, Akeem Davis-Gaither, Joe Bachie and Markus Bailey
The linebacker position appears to be one of the easiest to project. All five of these guys appear to be locks to make the final 53-man roster.
This projection hasn't changed since the start of training camp.
Cornerback (6): Chidobe Awuzie, Mike Hilton, Cam Taylor-Britt, DJ Turner II, DJ Ivey and Jalen Davis
This is another deep room that leaves some interesting names without a roster spot.
Awuzie continues to look great coming off of an ACL injury and is expected to be ready for the start of the season. Cam Taylor-Britt has battled with Chase and Higgins in camp and it looks like he's going to make a second-year leap. Turner has arguably been the Bengals' most impressive rookie.
The major change here is Ivey getting the nod over Allan George and Sidney Jones IV. Ivey has flashed all offseason long and even though it didn't full translate in the preseason opener, he has a good shot of pushing Jones for that final roster spot.
The veteran is still firmly in the mix, as is George, but Ivey would get the nod if the season started today.
Safety (4): Dax Hill, Nick Scott, Tycen Anderson and Jordan Battle
Mike Thomas is the odd man out. Anderson has shown enough on defense and special teams to make the team. Battle is settling into his role and the Bengals would love Thomas to sign with their practice squad in this scenario.
Hill and Scott are entrenched as starters. This quartet is young, athletic and versatile.
Specialists (3): Evan McPherson, Brad Robbins and Cal Adomitis
Robbins has been great in camp and had a solid debut. McPherson and Adomitis are roster locks.
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