Rumor: Bengals Interested in Signing or Trading For Steelers Running Back Cut Candidate

The Bengals' search for running back depth continues as the team is rumored to have interest in a Cincinnati-area native. Steelers running back Kaleb Johnson is possibly getting cut this weekend, and local Pittsburgh media voice Andrew Filliponi noted that the Bengals are interested.

Cincinnati hasn't had any names pop behind Chase Brown this preseason.

"The Bengals are eyeing Steelers RB Kaleb Johnson," Filliponi posted on X. "If he’s cut. And could try trading for the 3rd-round bust RB. Cincinnati has very little depth behind Chase Brown. And really liked Johnson in the 2025 NFL Draft. He went to Cincy for a draft visit. Stay tuned."

This is a clear rumor, and who knows how interested the Bengals really are, but depth is a big need at that position. Johnson has been strong this preseason, amassing a 70.3 Pro Football Focus grade on 37 snaps. He has a 79.6 pass-blocking grade on just three snaps.

Cincinnati's main bell-cow is ready to see what he can do in a dynamic role this season. Brown discussed his expanded slot role in the offense this week.

"I love the way that they're involving me in the offense, putting me in the slot, and allowing me to use my full skill set to make plays," Brown said of his expanded role at his locker. "I'm going into Year 4 of this offense, so over time you kind of learn the concepts and memorize them without even really knowing them."

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor and his staff have some big cut decisions to make across the next 36 hours.

“This will easily be the hardest 48 hours we face in terms of letting guys go and figuring out the practice squad. It's a big credit to [Bengals Director of Player Personnel] Duke [Tobin] and his staff for the depth that we have overall," Taylor noted on Friday night. "It's a big credit to the coaching staff for how they've built a lot of these guys that have gotten in these competitions and made things hard for us. I think you're starting to see, especially in Year 2 in the defensive scheme, a lot of guys made huge jumps.

"On offense, we've been together for a long time now, and I think the coaches have gotten the most out of these guys, and [Bengals Offensive Coordinator] Dan [Pitcher] with these specialists have been outstanding. So I think that's a credit to the whole building, and we just got to keep it going.”

Johnson has had interest from Cincinnati before; we will see if he lands in the Queen City.

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