4 winners (and 2 losers) from Bengals 53-man roster cuts

The Cincinnati Bengals' initial 53-man roster is officially in place, with not too many surprises and sleeper studs like Dohnte Meyers and Landon Robinson making the most headlines. What stands out is how deep this team is top to bottom compared to years past. That alone makes for more winners than losers in how the 53-man squad shook out.

Zac Taylor's tougher training camp set the tone for a dominant preseason, which marked the Bengals' first undefeated exhibition phase in two decades. Their backups looked pretty outstanding across the board with few exceptions.

I can honestly say I feel good about the first 49 players in my 53-man roster rankings. Which other ball-knowing fanbase can say the same? I challenge anyone to be that confident in their personnel.

That's what can happen when you have umpteen newcomers filling out various roles while still maintaining the pristine continuity of returning all 11 starters on the Joe Burrow-led offense. As we dive deeper on the new 53-man crew, check out my practice squad predictions as well.

Winner: Stripe Hype's manifestation skills for so-called Cinderella stories

I feel like Jim Carrey's Edward Nygma repeating his, "I am a winner!" mantra to his on-the-nose three-shadowing (not foreshadowing) Riddler bobblehead in Batman Forever. Not because I'm about to pitch Bruce Wayne or another billionaire businessman on the product of a lifetime. But because I MUST BE ACKNOWLEDGED!

It's getting ridiculous, y'all. Joe Burrow speaks of manifesting a Super Bowl. I hope he's someday aware of how much yours truly manifests things around here. We could be quite the manifesting dynamic duo if Joe is into that sort of thing. First up, Dohnte Meyers, who I've gassed up as a WR3 contender since June:

Secondly, there's only one like on this X post that I reposted from the Stripe Hype main account about Landon Robinson making the 53-man roster. It is from Landon Robinson himself, who liked the fact that we've been manifesting him as a productive Bengals player since January.

Loser: The 2024 draft class

It ain't pretty for this crew. Second-round pick Kris Jenkins Jr. is one of the five worst players on the roster. Fellow tackle McKinnley Jackson became the second third-rounder to be waived after Jermaine Burton, providing yet another cruel reminder of the Jessie Bates debacle.

In other news, cornerback Josh Newton spent much of training camp in the doghouse and wouldn't have made the roster if not for bargain-bin free agent Ja'Sir Taylor beginning the season on IR. Safety Daijahn Anthony got waived.

Right tackle Amarius Mims remains the clear beacon of hope for Cincinnati's '24 class. Tight end Erick All Jr. missed all of last year and is injury-prone but super talented.

While Cedric Johnson is a capable rotational player at defensive end, that leaves only three of 10 draftees who show any real promise. Total disaster.

Winner: Duke Tobin and the scouting department's reputation

And would you look at that. I'm about to give Duke Tobin his flowers. Because my goodness, did Duke and Co. appear to cook with this rookie class. I've never seen so many seemingly capable, immediate contributors!

Beyond the 2026 draft and my personal affinities for Landon Robinson and Dohnte Meyers, the defensive line in general looks outstanding. Dexter Lawrence is the clear anchor, but Jonathan Allen, B.J. Hill, and Boye Mafe can't be slept on.

Cincinnati still has the smallest scouting department in the league despite adding two scouts in 2025. You have to wonder how much better the group could be with a few more minds in the mix.

Seems worth investing in given how strong the returns look to be after just one year. Did someone tell the Bengals they could, you know, look at advanced scouting data, and actually spend money on free agents?

Loser: Charlie Jones

Tough look for our guy Chuck.

Charlie Jones accounted for three special teams TDs in as many years as a return man. Unfortunately for him, Jones couldn't find a way to contribute enough on offense to justify a spot on the 53-man roster.

This has been a long time coming. Bengals fans were giving Rap Sheet a hard time yesterday when he posted about Jones being "free" from Cincinnati, which many believed was a classic case of an NFL insider serving as an agent's spin-doctoring mouthpiece:

I personally don't really care about any of that. Why do people get triggered? Isn't this a well-known thing by now?

All the best to Charlie Jones, but I'm glad the Bengals made the tough call to keep superior players rather than stay loyal for mere loyalty's sake.

Winner: Joe Burrow's LSU comparison take

A reminder of what Joe Burrow said when he favorably likened the Bengals' 2026 roster to the stacked 2019 LSU squad he led to a national championship:

""You go back and watch what I said before the 2019 season at LSU, I feel very similarly about this team.""

Joe Burrow on the 2026 Bengals roster

Burrow called his shot back then, too. There's at least one common thread between the teams: Burrow and Ja'Marr Chase are the two best players on both.

And how's about this stat from Fox19's Charlie Goldsmith?

That doesn't even take into account atrocious 2022-2024 starting guard Cordell Volson, who was waived by the Titans. Plenty more where that came from. It's proof positive that the Bnegals have indeed turned a corner when it comes to getting serious about protecting Burrow and building a Super Bowl-worthy roster.

Winner: Fans hoping for more at the linebacker position

This is a twofold sort of deal. First off, good on the Bengals having the wherewithal to roster Swayze Bozeman. He's a phenomenal athlete. Superior to starters Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight Jr. I wouldn't be shocked if Bozeman pushes Carter for the No. 1 green dot role throughout the season.

But the fact that Cincinnati only held onto four linebackers could also be a sign that the team will, at long last, make an outside addition to that room.

The coaching staff could just depend on elevating practice squad guys to pitch in on special teams duty. However, I don't think the Bengals are done. Standing pat with four 'backers feels unnecessarily bold, especially when Carter and Knight have so much to prove.

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