These three members of the Cincinnati Bengals will have to impress during training camp if they want to stick around with the team.
The NFL and its player association have officially come to terms on an agreement that will allow training camps to move forward as planned. Soon enough, players will return to Paul Brown Stadium and the new era of Cincinnati Bengals football will begin.
As the orange and black faithful are well aware, there are set to be a plethora of new faces the next time Zac Taylor’s squad assembles. Free-agent additions, draft selections, and waiver wire acquisitions will all make for some of the most interesting roster competition that the Queen City has seen in years.
It has already been established that there will be no preseason games leading up to the 2020 slate. This new development may heavily alter the way rosters are constructed this year. Players that have worn stripes for longer will have an advantage over the young guns.
Regardless, the new coaching staff has shown it isn’t afraid to gamble and keep unproven talent around. Just last season, the team elected to stash Damion Willis on the 53-man roster. This means there will be tenured players that will have to impress during camp to stave off a surging youngster or undrafted free-agent that shows potential.
As things stand, Jordan Evans is absolutely on the outside looking in when it comes to making the roster. Under Marvin Lewis, the former Oklahoma Sooner linebacker saw playing time early and often, showing some potential. With Lou Anarumo now running the show on the defensive side of the ball, however, he saw his snap percent drop from 45% to 7%, indicating his time in Cincinnati is likely coming to a close.
Adding to the situation is all the new blood that can be found in the linebacker corps. Josh Bynes, Logan Wilson, Akeem Davis-Gaither, Markus Bailey, and Austin Calitro certainly make the room look crowded. The front office will likely only keep five or six linebackers and when accounting for the up-and-coming Germaine Pratt, it’s difficult to find a place for Evans.
Don’t expect him to go out without a fight though. He’s appeared to have put in serious work in the weight room this offseason, visibly lowering his body fat percentage and undoubtedly picking up speed in the process.
The potential the previous coaching regime saw in Evans didn’t just disappear. He’ll have to show the new staff the same promise in order to maintain his standing with the organization, however.
Cincinnati appears to be absolutely loaded at the running back position heading into the upcoming campaign. Leading the group is Joe Mixon, an absolute star that has kept the Bengals’ run game going behind a horrendous offensive line. Behind him is Giovani Bernard, a shifty veteran who can get it done both in the passing game and blocking.
To round the group out, Rodney Anderson and Trayveon Williams stand ready. Both show tremendous potential and could take another step this year.
The team typically only keeps four backs, and all of those spots appear to be filled with the aforementioned players. However, the front office claimed running back Samaje Perine off waivers this offseason, suggesting there may be room for him.
The coaching staff clearly loves the former Sooner back, as this is the second time they’ve brought him in to wear stripes. No matter how favorably they view him, however, the numbers work against him. There’s not a lot of reason to keep an extra running back that will rarely see playing time over an additional defensive end that can work into the rotation.
Perine will have to perform extremely well and prove he can be an ace on special teams if he wants to make the roster.
Typically, the Bengals like to keep roughly six wideouts on their initial 53-man roster. This year, there only seems to be one of those six spots up for grabs, as the other five slots are pretty much locked down. Fans can rest assured that A.J. Green, Tyler Boyd, Tee Higgins, John Ross, and Auden Tate will be the top five pass catchers.
Alex Erickson, Damion Willis, Stanley Morgan, and undrafted free-agent Scotty Washington will all be competing to stick around. Willis impressed out of the gate in 2019 but didn’t show much when given the chance. If he wants to continue to stay in the good graces of Taylor, he’ll need to rediscover the potential that saved him from being cut at the beginning of last season.
It won’t be easy. Erickson has proven capable in the return game and has stepped up when called upon. Morgan showed just as much potential at times as Willis. Washington is a 6’5 weapon with loads of red zone potential.
Making the situation look even more dire for Willis is the fact that the team already has higher caliber players that have similar skill sets. Green and Higgins will man the outside receiver positions, leaving the front office to look for special teams ability or some other unique attribute to fill the back end of the room. Two of the other three previously mentioned wide receivers certainly have attributes that fit that description.
If Willis wants to stick around, he’ll need to impress during training camp to convince the Bengals they can’t risk losing him to another team when they attempt to stash him on the practice squad.