Bengals Roster: Early 53 Man Projection

Jan 5, 2014; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals running backs coach Hue Jackson before the 2013 AFC wild card playoff football game against the San Diego Chargers at Paul Brown Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Quarterback

Andy Dalton

Jason Campbell

AJ McCarron

Running Back

Giovanni Bernard

Jeremy Hill

Rex Burkhead

James Wilder Jr.

Wide Receiver

AJ Green

Marvin Jones

Mohammad Sanu

Dane Sanzenbacher

Cobi Hamilton

Brandon Tate

Tight End

Jermaine Gresham

Tyler Eifert

Ryan Hewitt

Tackle

Andew Whitworth

Andre Smith

Tanner Hawkinson

 Guard

Mike Pollack

Kevin Zietler

Marshall Newhouse

Clint Boiling

Center

Russell Bodine

Trevor Robinson

No real surprises here as the Bengals will keep three quarterbacks for the first time in almost a decade. The Bengals are at a real crossroads with Andy Dalton and his contract extension.  However, if they didn’t believe in him I think Teddy Bridgewater would be a Bengal.  It will be interesting to see what happens when Andy Dalton has a multi interception game as AJ McCarron sits on the bench inactive.

Running back is going to be a real battle, but not with BJGE and Jeremy Hill.  The battle will be at the end of the roster where another veteran Cedric Pearman could lose his roster spot to James Wilder Jr., the physical specimen from the national champs.

At wide receiver the top six are already set and with the Bengals keeping three quarterbacks Ryan Whalen’s uneventful tenure ends.  Codi Hamilton will look to be active on game days but will probably spend another season being irrelevant. Dane Sanzenbacher could make a push for snaps in the slot and on returns.

What will be interesting is if they roster a FB, but currently no true full back is on the roster which leads me to believe that Orsen Charles or Ryan Hewitt will take those snaps. My vote is Hewitt who is just a more natural blocker from that position and Charles has a legal matter pending.

The offensive line scares me some as we are thin at tackle in my opinion. With that said the coaches must have a lot of faith in Tanner Hawkinson and newley signed Marshall Newhouse backing up those spots. The guards are already set and I like the depth there.  At center Paul Alexander has said it will be an open competition between Russell Bodine and Trevor Robinson, I expect Bodine to win, the coaches like him too much.