The Cincinnati Bengals announced their 53-man roster on Tuesday, and there are certain areas they simply must add to before Week 1 kicks off.
While stashing certain players on the practice squad could be feasible, there's always the option to sign them to the active roster. That might mean relegating some incumbent survivors to the taxi squad, but it's all about maximizing talent on Game Dey.
This collection of five players could very well become dated in short order. Nevertheless, here's a look at a mix of veterans and young up-and-comers who could prove to be key assets to the Bengals this season. We'll start with the vested vets and work our way down.
Writer's note: This initially started as a Rams-specific piece, but alas, the Eagles claimed offensive lineman Willie Lampkin, and the Raiders nabbed edge defender Brennan Jackson off the waiver wire.
2 Rams, 3 others headline prime candidates for Bengals 53-man roster or practice squad
Texans S Jalen Mills
If the Bengals aren't going to kick the tires on decorated free agent Justin Simmons, perhaps they'll dig into another tenured safety in Jalen Mills. Houston is pretty loaded in the secondary, so it's not a shock to see Mills available on the precipice of his age-31 campaign.
In addition to registering PFF run defense grades of 84.1 (144 snaps) and 68.4 (202 snaps) in the last two respective seasons, Mills' coverage chops have improved of late as well. In the last three years, on 840 snaps in pass coverage, quarterbacks who's targeted him have gone 55-of-95 passing (57.9%) for 629 yards, with 3 TDs and 3 INTs for a passer rating of 75.3.
Yes, I took precious time to calculate those totals, running the risk that Mills may get scooped up by another team before I hit "publish" on this thang. Cincinnati's safety room lacks experience and depth. Mills would provide that in spades.
Lions OL Dan Skipper
There's a real chance Detroit clings to Dan Skipper by the time this goes live. If not, Cincinnati should be all over him.
Skipper has been content to be the sixth man in the wings on the Lions' loaded o-line in recent years, logging snaps at every position but center, and even 155 reps in the last three seasons as an extra tackle/inline tight end, per PFF.
I can't think of a better solution at swing tackle than Skipper. The questions are, will the Bengals pay up enough, or will they be an attractive-enough destination for Skipper to land in — given that he's so familiar with his current Super Bowl-contending team? This is a pipe dream scenario. We'll see.
Rams OL Dylan McMahon
Back to reality a bit with this one. Had Los Angeles not opted to keep its interior o-line group so exclusive — the Rams have five players at guard or center on the 53-man roster as of now — McMahon may have made the cut. Instead, he was subject to waivers.
Why do I hold McMahon in such high esteem? Firstly, he was a sixth-round draft pick in 2024. Howie Roseman drafted him. It says a lot that the Rams placed McMahon on their active roster last year once the Eagles waived him.
The young man’s athletic profile is also legitimately among the best of the past two-plus decades.
RD 6 | PK 190 - Eagles: Dylan McMahon C, NC State
— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) April 27, 2024
With the 190th pick, the @Eagles select the center with the 3rd-highest athleticism score since 2003 (95).
The Eagles are looking to replace center Jason Kelce, who earned a 98 athleticism score and was selected 191st overall in… pic.twitter.com/00InoKKvss
McMahon has been on the wrong end of a numbers game two seasons in a row. He got significant snaps at all three interior o-line positions in college. Solid depth and real versatility with starting upside for the future? Sign me up for some Dylan McMahon.
Vikings EDGE Gabriel Murphy
Minnesota brought Gabriel Murphy back on the practice squad, per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler. Nevertheless, that shouldn't stop the Bengals from trying to poach him.
During his final season at UCLA back in 2023, Murphy recorded eight sacks and 16 tackles for loss. He spent most of his rookie year on injured reserve, but there's reason to believe he could be a solid situational pass-rusher. Murphy performed quite well in the preseason in at least one outing.
#Vikings OLB Gabriel Murphy vs. HOU: 5 pressures, 5 QB hits, 1.5 sacks on 19 pass-rush snaps. pic.twitter.com/oRHnp0RGtx
— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) August 11, 2025
I feel like a broken record at this point. Cincinnati's core trio of depth at defensive end features the likes of underwhelming first-round pick Myles Murphy, annual breakout candidate Joseph Ossai, and Cam Sample coming off a torn Achilles.
Gabriel Murphy could very well represent an upgrade, or at least a higher ceiling for the Bengals group as a whole.
Rams S Tanner Ingle
Few defenders made more headlines during NFL exhibition games this year than Tanner Ingle. The hard-hitting safety missed the Rams’ cut, because again, they got pretty bold by only keeping three safeties total.
Tanner Ingle has been HITTING this preseason for the Rams pic.twitter.com/Kf6lJBXl6H
— Brandon Thorn (@BrandonThornNFL) August 24, 2025
Letting a thumper like Ingle hit the waiver wire could be a costly move for LA, especially in the event of an injury to anyone in its current safety corps. While Ingle could be a bit of a big game hunter who swings and misses from time to time, at least he’d bring an enthusiastic physicality to a Bengals group that could use a more aggressive mentality from everyone not named PJ Jules.
This will mark Ingle’s third NFL season, and he hasn’t been able to stick consistently on the Rams’ active roster.
Not that he’d be in line for a massive role in Cincinnati out of the gates, but Ingle could be a huge asset on special teams, potentially freeing up snaps at safety for Tycen Anderson in the event starters Geno Stone or Jordan Battle don’t perform to expectations early this year.
Exactly what you saw from Tanner Ingle on his college tape at NC State. Flies downhill with bad intentions and not afraid to lower the boom.
— Devin Jackson (@RealD_Jackson) August 25, 2025
pic.twitter.com/hLA1AtBP5k https://t.co/wSQJLkHGBA