Aug 29, 2015; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals running back Jeremy Hill (32) against the Chicago Bears in a preseason NFL football game at Paul Brown Stadium. The Bengals won 21-10. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
The Cincinnati Bengals are down to 53. And relatively speaking, the roster looks how most people (including myself) expected it to look.
Here's the #Bengals 53-man depth chart. pic.twitter.com/eGFsl7eKtj
— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) September 5, 2015
Thanks to Paul Dehner Jr. for tweeting out the depth chart, he’s a great follow on Twitter if you like the Bengals.
Here are a few observations from Cincinnati’s final roster. For more observations and information, check out this post from the Cincinnati Enquirer.
Cincinnati did what most people thought and kept only one backup interior offensive lineman in T.J. Johnson. I found it hard to believe that only one guy is backing up three different players, but that’s just how Cincinnati is going to play it, I guess.
On defense, Margus Hunt ended up making the team. I partially attribute this to Marquis Flowers‘ injury in the final preseason game, but people who have inside knowledge of the Bengals insinuate that Chris Carter, rather than Hunt, made the team because of Flowers’ injury.
At defensive tackle, the Bengals decided to cut Devon Still. It was an expected move but is still a bit of a bummer for Bengals fans who had been rooting for him, especially the thousands who became Bengals fans strictly through Still’s inspiring story.
DeShawn Williams, one of Cincinnati’s strongest preseason performers, did not make the team. The Bengals will surely be praying that he clears waivers so that they can sign him to the practice squad.
Chris Lewis-Harris also made the roster as the team’s sixth corner. It’s interesting to see that Cincinnati liked him over Troy Hill, but the team will likely try to sign Hill to the practice squad as well.
Jason DiManche and Marquis Flowers head to injured reserve for Cincinnati, while Vontaze Burfict, Cedric Ogbuehi and Sean Porter start the season on the PUP list.
Here are some names that will definitely be on Cincinnati’s practice squad if they clear waivers:
James Wilder Jr.
Terrell Watson
Jake Kumerow
DeShawn Williams
Troy Hill
Overall, Cincinnati’s depth chart looks just like most people thought it would look. Cincinnati still has the chance to sign any players waived from other teams to its 53-man roster, so the team is certainly not set in stone.