We're in the throes of the blistering summer season now, and that means minicamp is underway. For the Cincinnati Bengals, theirs runs from Tuesday, June 16th to Thursday, June 18th.
Teams have had their rookie minicamps and voluntary OTAs (Organized Team Activities) in the past month, but now everyone on the roster has to get involved for minicamp-- veterans, rookies, and free agency signings alike-- before breaking for the summer and returning in July for training camp.
With 90 players on the roster, which will be slimmed down as we inch towards the preseason, the Bengals' faithful have a lot of questions about the team and the group it's taking into 2026. Will they make late offseason additions like they did last year with Dalton Risner, Noah Fant, and Mike Pennel? Is there another trade on the horizon with the Burrow restructure? Will there be a surprising cap casualty, even with the restructure?
So, let's look at four roster questions that the Bengals will hopefully answer ahead of the 2026-27 NFL season.
All stats courtesy of Pro Football Reference.
Who will take the WR3 role?
When you have a 1-2 punch of Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, it's hard to be worried about the wide receiver room. It was also harder to be worried when you had Tyler Boyd complementing them in the slot.
While it's true that tight end Mike Gesicki has taken on that role as a de facto slot receiver, the Bengals will still look to incorporate a third wideout heavily into the offense, and it could go to one of the several players remaining in that room after you get past the top two.
Iosivas is, obviously, the frontrunner, looking to secure his role as WR3 for the third straight year. While Andrei has been incredible value for a sixth-round pick, he did struggle with drops last season and posted the lowest catch percentage of his young career at 56.9%, which could lead to a reduced role in 2026.
Then there's Colbie Young, the rookie that Cincinnati, rather controversially, selected in the 4th round when most seemed to have him go late on Day 3 or undrafted entirely, largely stemming from off-field issues and a leg fracture he sustained midway through the 2025 collegiate season. Iosivas wasn't a highly-touted prospect himself, so Young has a shot to take the spot out from under him.
Once you get past Young and Iosivas, it's a lot of dark horses. It seems like every fan at this point has given up on the possibility of Charlie Jones becoming anything more than a returner. Mitchell Tinsley impressed in the 2025 preseason but ended up being rather underwhelming once the actual season got underway (though that one-handed catch against the Jaguars was incredible). Stripe Hype's own Matt Fitzgerald made the case for former CFL player Dohnte Meyers to potentially be a dark horse for the position as well.
There's also the possibility that they bring in someone. Longtime NFL wideout DeAndre Hopkins, who leads all active wide receivers in career receiving yards, has openly expressed his desire to play with Joe Burrow, and if the Bengals take him up on that offer, he'd likely automatically slot in as WR3.
How much run will Connor Lew get?
Despite being a 4th-round pick, Lew was arguably the most hyped up selection of their 2026 draft class by Bengals' fans, and for good reason. Like fellow 4th-rounder Colbie Young, Lew suffered a leg injury (specifically a torn ACL) in October of 2025. However, unlike Young, Lew was much more highly-regarded by outlets before his injury, with some even having him as high as a first-round talent.
As a center, Lew wasn't drafted for the now but rather the future, as current starter Ted Karras still has one year left on his contract. However, with the passionate center being 33 years old and his play on the decline as a result, Lew will effectively serve as the successor to him. Now, Bengals' fans will remember having this same sentiment about former Hurricane Matt Lee after the 2024 draft, who was also considered a steal, only to be waived before the 2026 draft.
However, Lee was drafted in the 7th round while Lew was drafted in the 4th, which will be much harder to just discard. Not to mention, with the timing of when they waived the Miami alum, it seems like they were going into this draft with the intention of drafting a replacement for Karras.
So, how much of Connor Lew will fans actually see this season? Will he get a few reps with starters during training camp? Injuries are always a possibility, even if Karras has been remarkably healthy during his time in Cincinnati, appearing in 70 of 71 games during his time here.
If Risner or Fairchild start to struggle, they could move Karras out to guard, which is the position he primarily played in New England, and start Lew at center, although that is a longshot.
Who will emerge as alpha in the EDGE room?
The front office spent a good chunk of free agency and the draft addressing the defensive line, completely overhauling it for 2026.
Although some major players remain, such as B.J. Hill and Myles Murphy, a lot of new faces have been introduced to the stripes, like Dexter Lawrence and Boye Mafe. While Dexter Lawrence clearly headlines the interior defensive line, with solid contributors like Hill and newly acquired Jonathan Allen, the EDGE department lacks a clear-cut alpha.
Boye Mafe is who a lot of fans may presume to be the standout in the room, as he is the most proven. 20 career sacks, recording 9.0 in 2023 and 6.0 in 2024-- both outputs would have led the Bengals in 2025-- and a Lombardi this past season. Alas, while Mafe had team success in 2025, he did see a reduced role on the Seahawks' defense, and only recorded 2.0 sacks on the year.
That said, the change of scenery could lead to Mafe truly breaking out, similar to how the Hendrickson signing worked out for Cincinnati.
Speaking of breaking out, that's exactly what Myles Murphy did towards the end of this past season, having his most productive year by far with 5.5 sacks, 52 tackles, and 41 pressures according to Pro Football Focus. This came after a dismal 2024 season where fans were seemingly already giving up on the former Clemson Tiger just two years into his career. Could he build off what we saw in 2025 and be the standout edge rusher?
Like the wide receiver room, after the top two options, you have a couple of dark horses. Shemar Stewart could really use a "prove everybody wrong" season like Murphy just had after a nightmare of a rookie season. He has the physical tools to do it, but his problem has always been production.
Rookie Cashius Howell has the opposite problem, where he has the production (27.0 sacks, 2025 SEC Defensive Player of the Year), but is limited athletically, notably with his wingspan.
Nonetheless, it feels like any one of these four could emerge as the top guy among this edge rusher group in 2026.
Will the coaching staff trust their second-year linebackers to take a leap, or will the front office look to add a veteran starter to the room?
With the Burrow restructure, many fans have speculated that this could indicate one more major addition to the defense, specifically at the linebacker position. Believe it or not, there are still a few quality players remaining at the position on the market, and if there's one thing we've learned this offseason, it's that the Bengals are no longer going to shy away from making a trade if they need to.
The Bengals could sign 14-year NFL veteran Bobby Wagner on a relatively cheap deal this late into the offseason, as a lot of outlets have linked him to Cincinnati. They could also swing for the fences and make another trade this offseason for Miami Dolphins' linebacker Jordyn Brooks. There are also less renowned avenues, like Bobby Okereke, Matt Milano, or Jerome Baker. Maybe even a reunion with Germaine Pratt or Logan Wilson? Doubtful, but a possibility.
However, a Burrow restructure doesn't make things as cut-and-dry as they may seem.
As bad as the linebacker corps was last year, fellow Stripe Hype contributor Dylan Oakley makes an excellent argument for extending their cornerback tandem of Dax Hill and DJ Turner II as the top priority with the cap space cleared up from the restructure, rather than going out and getting a veteran linebacker. Besides, as much as Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight Jr. struggled, they were rookies plopped in the middle of an all-time terrible defense. The moves the front office has already made should help hide their inefficiencies and, ideally, allow them to progress.
It's been widely reported how much trust the coaching staff has in their linebacker room as is. We'll see if that faith is well-placed.
Those were four roster questions for the Bengals as we head into minicamp. What are some questions you have about the roster, or moves you'd like to see the front office make with the Burrow restructure?
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