Breaking Down the Cincinnati Bengals' Practice Squad Signings

The Cincinnati Bengals announced the signing of 11 practice squad members today, well shy of the limit of 16.

The reason they are at least one short is that they expect to add tight end Tanner Hudson on Tuesday.

The Bengals kept Hudson on their initial 53-man roster, but after winning a waiver claim for former Philadelphia Eagles offensive tackle Myles Hinton, they needed to cut someone.

That decision likely came down to exercising control. Had they cut one of the final two players to make the roster, cornerback Josh Newton or offensive lineman Jacob Bayer, they would have had to expose them to waivers with a chance of losing them.

With Hudson, they can make a wink-and-nod promise to bring him back as part of the roster gymnastics often employed this time of year.

The 11 players the Bengals signed to the practice squad Monday are:

HB Kentrel Bullock
QB Sean Clifford
DT Howard Cross III
DE Isaiah Foskey
LB Joe Giles-Harris
LB Shaka Heyward
CB Bralyn Lux
HB Kendall Milton
WR Jordan Moore
WR Noah Thomas
S Russ Yeast

All 30 of the players the Bengals waived on Sunday cleared waivers, so they had their pick of who they wanted to bring back, although they were snubbed by the player that felt like the biggest lock to rejoing the practice squad -- tight end Cam Grandy.

The Minnesota Vikings signed Grandy to their practice squad Monday after he played in 13 games with seven starts for the Bengals the last two seasons. Grandy is primarily a blocking tight end who was seen as insurance for Erick All Jr. is coming off from two ACL surgeries.

And the Houston Texans signed wide receiver Mitch Tinsley, who also would have been a sure addition to the Bengals' practice squad otherwise.

Foskey, Giles-Harris and Heyward were high priority re-signings, as were the running backs given that the team only kept three on the 53-man roster.

Giles-Harris and Heyward were among the learders in special teams snaps last season. Backup linebackers usually are, and with the Bengals only keeping four on the 53, it made sense to bring both guys back.

Running back Jamal Haynes had one of the best plays of the preseason with his 39-yard run, but his size works against him and he barely saw the field in practice, let alone in the preseason games until the fourth quarter of the finale.

An interesting omission is quarterback Josh Johnson, who played well throughout camp and in the games. The Bengals added Sean Clifford as their practice squad quarterback.

They still could add Johnson as well, but maybe they are giving him time to see if he can land on a 53-man roster somewhere, which is something Zac Taylor mentioned in his postgame news conference Friday.

“I would love that for Josh,” Taylor said. “However it plays out with Josh, he has been such a pro. We’re really proud of him and happy to see all of those guys perform.”

Don't be surprised if Lux and Yeast are elevated to the 53 at some point this season, whether as standard, game-day promotions or something more permanent in the event of injury.

Expect the Bengals to fill the remaining five spots in the coming days as they see all of the moves from the other 31 teams.

Here is a list of the 2025 initial practice squad members (with how their seasons played out).

RB Gary Brightwell (Elevated in Weeks 12, 13; 12 special teams snaps)

OT Devin Cochran (Cut the next day)

OT Andrew Coker (PS all season)

CB Jalen Davis (Elevated in Weeks 12, 13; signed to active roster Week 14; played seven games with three starts; 270 defensive snaps, five special teams snaps)

LB Joe Giles-Harris (Elevated in Week 8; signed to active roster Week 9; 32 defensive snaps, 190 special teams snaps)

OT Jaxson Kirkland (Elevated Week 6 and Week 9; three offensive snaps, 10 special teams snaps; placed on IR Week 11)

CB Bralyn Lux (Elevated Weeks 16-17; 19 defensive snaps, 11 special teams snaps)

C Seth McLaughlin (PS all season)

RB Kendall Milton (Elevated Week 11; two carries; four offensive snaps)

WR Jordan Moore (PS all season)

LB Maema Njongmeta (Signed by Carolina in Week 3)

QB Brett Rypien (Cut in Week 6 after team traded for Joe Flacco)

DE Isaiah Thomas (Cut in Week 2)

WR Isaiah Williams (Signed by New York Jets in Week 2)

OT Javon Foster (PS all season)

S Russ Yeast (PS all season)

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