We'll have a better grasp of how the Cincinnati Bengals plan to structure their team here soon once news starts surfacing of en masse cuts to the roster until they reach that magic number 53.
There ought to be several follow-up transactions that will alter the makeup of the roster's back end, which could explain why certain needy positions are temporarily left so exposed in the predictions of some. My final prediction already went up after the preseason finale, linked here for compare-contrast purposes.
Might be just me, but given some of the Bengals' issues, I have my doubts that players who get scooped up after being cut from elsewhere will come in and make a meaningful contribution, especially early on. Cincinnati is trying to get off to a fast start for once, so banking on anyone joining the fold this late in the game in any serious way could help derail those well-intentioned efforts.
Thought that was all necessary to set up as context for what's coming: A breakdown of Sports Illustrated's final take on how the Bengals' 53-man roster will look in a matter of, oh, less than 36 hours?
SI's Bengals 53-man roster projections after final week of preseason
James Rapien put together quite the clan of Bengals at certain spots, so let's get it all laid out below. Before we dive in, I want to say that I largely agree with him. However, that's the beauty of these sorts of exercises: Healthy debate.
Quarterbacks (2)
- Joe Burrow
- Jake Browning
Running Backs (3)
- Chase Brown
- Samaje Perine
- Tahj Brooks
Wide Receivers (6)
- Ja'Marr Chase
- Tee Higgins
- Andrei Iosivas
- Jermaine Burton
- Charlie Jones
- Mitchell Tinsley
Tight Ends (5)
- Mike Gesicki
- Noah Fant
- Drew Sample
- Tanner Hudson
- Cam Grandy
Offensive Line (9)
- Orlando Brown Jr.
- Dylan Fairchild
- Ted Karras
- Lucas Patrick
- Amarius Mims
- Devin Cochran
- Matt Lee
- Cody Ford
- Jalen Rivers
Defensive Line (10)
- Trey Hendrickson
- BJ Hill
- TJ Slaton
- Shemar Stewart
- Joseph Ossai
- Kris Jenkins Jr.
- McKinnley Jackson
- Myles Murphy
- Cam Sample
- Taven Bryan
Linebackers (5)
- Logan Wilson
- Demetrius Knight Jr.
- Oren Burks
- Barrett Carter
- Joe Giles-Harris
Cornerbacks (6)
- Cam Taylor-Britt
- DJ Turner
- Dax Hill
- Josh Newton
- Marco Wilson
- DJ Ivey
Safeties (4)
- Geno Stone
- Jordan Battle
- Tycen Anderson
- PJ Jules
Specialists (3)
- K Evan McPherson
- P Ryan Rehkow
- LS Cal Adomitis
This prediction includes Cam Grandy staying on as a fifth tight end, Joe Giles-Harris beating out Maema Njongmeta and Shaka Heyward for the LB5 spot, DJ Ivey making the team as a sixth cornerback, and a couple notable omissions from the roster. The ones that stood out to me were center Seth McLaughlin and defensive tackle Howard Cross III.
Cincinnati runs four-deep at tight end. Njongmeta had 12 tackles in the preseason finale against the Colts, and Heyward has been with the team a year longer. Giles-Harris is a new addition who doesn't move the needle for me. I suppose keeping three centers between McLaughlin, Matt Lee, and starter Ted Karras is a lot, yet McLaughlin's top-flight talent is tough to dangle on a practice squad.
I think it's time to move on from DJ Ivey, too. He was a seventh-round pick in the first place. Not a great preseason. What's the use of keeping him? Purely for special teams? Nah.
My thinking is the Bengals need as many bodies in both trenches as they can get. I kept 10 offensive linemen and 11 on defense in my 53-man roster prediction. Rapien has nine and 10 respectively. Having Grandy and Ivey on board at deeper positions doesn't make a lot of sense to me.
Mitchell Tinsley's exceptional preseason forced the Bengals to keep six wideouts when they might not have planned to. There's no one you can really cut from that group, unless you go really bold and waive Jermaine Burton. Don't think the 2024 third-round pick is in any danger thanks in large part to his draft status.
Other than the few minor qualms I've expressed so far, Rapien and I are basically on the same page with a lot of this stuff. We both think PJ Jules gets the nod as the final safety over Daijahn Anthony. The rest of our predictions look identical, save for his opinion that rookie long snapper William Wagner will be out incumbent Cal Adomitis.
I'm not going to raise any major objection over the competition for who snaps the ball. As long as it's good, we're good!