Bengals Head Coach Marvin Lewis said during his press conference today that he was holding out hope that the team could bring back WR Armon Binns back after they had to cut him to make room Sunday for center Kyle Cook, as well as backup kicker Josh Brown. He was an unfortunate victim of the numbers game, and now he has been reportedly claimed by the Miami Dolphins, and will not be coming back to the city where he had a memorable college career while at the University of Cincinnati.

Binns got off to a nice start in his second season with the Bengals, snagging 12 passes for 157 yards and a touchdown in his first three games, but only managed to catch 11 passes over the next five games while being declared inactive in four out of the past six games. He fell on the depth chart below Brandon Tate, Marvin Jones, and even Ryan Whalen, making it hard for the Bengals to carry him as a sixth receiver since he didn’t play on special teams. Best wishes to Binns as he looks to continue his NFL career in Miami.

Want more Bengals news? Like Stripe Hype on Facebook, or grab our RSS feed.

Follow @StripeHype

Follow @UK_Fans

September 23, 2012; Landover, MD, USA; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Armon Binns (85) catches a pass that he runs for a touchdown in front of Washington Redskins cornerback Josh Wilson (26) during the second quarter at FedEx Field. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

The Bengals have officially activated center Kyle cook to the active roster, and in order to make room for him, the team has opted to waive wide receiver Armon Binns. Aftert opening the season as one of the two receivers vying for the #2 role alongside A.J. Green, Binns beat out Brandon Tate for that spot, and responded well initially, but slowly saw his playing time decrease as rookies Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu continued to improve, as well as second-year man Ryan Whalen.

Binns has now been inactive for the past month, and it didn’t look like he was going to be active anytime soon, making him expendable unfortunately. His roster spot was also hurt by the Bengals having to have two kickers on the roster this week with Mike Nugent injured and Josh Brown being signed.

We’ll always remember Binns for his days at the University of Cincinnati and this memorable play:

Want more Bengals news? Like Stripe Hype on Facebook, or grab our RSS feed.

Follow @StripeHype

Follow @UK_Fans

Nov 11, 2012; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Andrew Hawkins (16) is congratulated by quarterback Andy Dalton (14) after scoring during the first half against the New York Giants at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Frank Victores-US PRESSWIRE

At the conclusion of preseason, the Cincinnati Bengals opted to keep an unprecedented number of wide receivers on the final 53-man roster.  Of those personnel only second year sensation and fourth overall draft pick of the 2011 Draft, A.J. Green, was a truly proven commodity after having broken on the scene and earning a Pro-Bowl selection as a rookie.  Since then, as Green continues to set the club record for most consecutive games with a touchdown reception, breaking TJ Houshmanzadah’s previous record of 8, the rest of the receivers continue to jostle for position within the depth chart.  With only six games remaining in the 2012 NFL season, there is certainly enough of a body of work on these wide outs to begin to determine who will still be around in 2013.

Armon Binns

Binns was originally named first on the depth chart behind A.J. Green.  An activation from the practice squad late in last season, Binns was relatively effective for the first three games of the season, racking up 159 yards on 12 receptions (13.25 yards per catch) with 1 touchdown.  However, afterwards, Binns became somewhat streaky, starting and playing in only two more games, both of which contained dropped balls, mis-run routes and an inability to get out from underneath coverage.  Since missing Week 7 against Pittsburgh with an ankle injury, Binns hasn’t made it back to the field despite being made active each week.  While it’s unclear why Binns hit the wall, it does seem that his stock on the depth chart has significantly dropped.  Still a down-field threat who, if not injured in some undisclosed way, could be an unforeseen factor later this the season.  Next year, however, could be an uphill fight to retain his place on the roster.  Grade:  C

Andrew Hawkins

“Baby Hawk” exploded onto the scene during the beginning of the Bengals’ season, notching plays for 20+ yards in each of his first five games.  But disregarding the most recent outing against Kansas City in which he didn’t play, Hawkins efforts starting to be a little more reigned in during Weeks 6-10 as defensives have come to respect his abilities. That’s not to say that he hasn’t been a significant factor, still snagging more than and averaged 3 receptions a game for around 8 yards a carry.  Currently third in receptions and receiving yards behind A.J. Green and Jermaine Gresham, opposing teams clearly acknowledge that Hawkins is a major open field threat, and while the Bengals continue to develop the playbook to get him into open space more often, Hawkins looks to be a solidifying himself as a marquee name in Cincinnati.  Grade: B+