The Cincinnati Bengals made some serious additions to boost their roster this offseason, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. That means some decent-quality players are liable to fall by the wayside.
But the offense is returning all 11 starters, too, not to mention a potential X-factor in tight end Erick All Jr., who missed all of 2025 and most of his rookie year due to a nagging knee injury.
That little tease does well to tee up our first of three players who the Bengals shouldn't give up on in 2026.
TE Tanner Hudson
Although he re-signed this offseason on a one-year deal, Tanner Hudson has always had to fight every season for a role of some kind.
Hudson is a friendly target for Joe Burrow at 6'5", with a huge catch radius and trusty hands that reeled in this one-handed catch in last year's Thanksgiving blowout of the Ravens in Baltimore:
A ONE-HANDED T HUDDY TUDDY
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) November 28, 2025
📺: #CINvsBAL on NBC pic.twitter.com/jDy0kWaf4N
Those special ball skills could be put to more use. It's difficult to grasp why Hudson doesn't get more run than Drew Sample, other than the fact that Sample is heavier-set and has a reputation as a superior blocker.
Except Sample is declining as a blocker of late. And he brings, like, zero juice as a pass-catcher. Hudson peaked with 39 catches in 12 games during the 2023 campaign. Especially if All isn't ready to roll right away, the Bengals should deploy more 12 personnel packages with Hudson and Mike Gesicki, as opposed to Gesicki and Sample.
CB Josh Newton
The coverage artiste known as "Fig" has actually shown some real potential in the NFL through two seasons. Unfortunately, the lack of reps and rhythm seemed to faze Josh Newton in 2025, and the plague of tackling problems that poisoned the Bengals defense seemed to rub off on him as badly as anyone not named Geno Stone.
While Newton needs to clean up his tackling form (missed on six of 17 attempts in 2025) and improve in run support, he can hold the fort down in coverage. Despite allowing a 4-1 TD-INT ratio, Newton has yielded only a 56.3% completion rate on 71 targets and a stellar 89.9 passer rating.
Given that he has the versatility to kick inside to nickel as well, it was a bit perplexing that Cincinnati made such a concerted effort to scoop up as many slot/safety hybrid types as possible, not to mention the decision to reach on third-round boundary/big nickel corner Tacario Davis in the draft.
Davis' arrival could be the beginning of the end for Newton. On the other hand, maybe competition will bring out the best in him. It'd just be a shame to see him go, but it's very much in play.
DE Cedric Johnson
Yet another SEC product on the defensive edge, Cedric Johnson was on injured reserve for much of his second year as a pro. He played sparingly as a rookie in 2024. Whenever he's gotten a shot, though, Johnson has flashed some solid pass rushing ability.
Johnson had 18 pressures by PFF's count on only 142 pass rush snaps (12.7% rate) this past season. For a little context, when new free agent Boye Mafe had a career-high nine sacks for the Seahawks in 2023 his pressure rate was 13.1% (58 on 443 pass rush snaps).
Not to say that the former Ole Miss Rebel is about to be some breakout star. However, he's in real danger of being relegated to either the practice squad or off the roster entirely once final cuts come around.
Between the high investment in last year's first-round pick Shemar Stewart, Mafe's arrival, new top draft pick Cashius Howell, and Myles Murphy entrenched as a starter, Johnson doesn't have much room to contribute (again). But the Bengals should do what they can to keep him.
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