Anyone who knows ball knows that the Cincinnati Bengals were going to have quite a lot of high-end talent on their 53-man roster entering the 2025 season.
Thanks to Trey Hendrickson's pay raise, the Bengals' best defender is secure for this year, and he headlines a roster mostly full of offensive superstars like Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins.
Hendrickson might be the most valuable individual member of any defense in the NFL, given the Bengals' lingering issues on that side of the ball and his singularly-generated pass rush. And it's not like the offense is perfect, either, with questionable depth on the offensive line being a notable red flag.
All those qualifiers established, there's still time for Cincinnati to bring in reinforcements and build its depth via the waiver wire, or acquiring recently-released veterans. I think you'll agree with me in looking at the 53-man roster below that bigger things are coming for the Bengals in the coming days.
Just for reference, here's the initial roster announcement from the team.
Initial 2025 Cincinnati Bengals 53-man roster
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 (8)
- Orlando Brown Jr.
- Dylan Fairchild
- Ted Karras
- Lucas Patrick
- Amarius Mims
- Matt Lee
- Cody Ford
- Jalen Rivers
Defensive Line (11)
- Trey Hendrickson
- BJ Hill
- TJ Slaton
- Shemar Stewart
- Joseph Ossai
- Kris Jenkins Jr.
- McKinnley Jackson
- Myles Murphy
- Cam Sample
- Howard Cross III
- Eric Gregory
Linebackers (5)
- Logan Wilson
- Demetrius Knight Jr.
- Oren Burks
- Barrett Carter
- Shaka Heyward
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 William Wagner
Bengals 53-man roster hints at big future additions at key spots
OK so. My final 53-man roster prediction got it sort of half-right. Sounds vague, but my main narrative was that the Bengals would emphasize depth in the trenches. I thought that'd be on both lines of scrimmage. Instead, Cincinnati went heavy on the defensive line, and a little light up front on offense.
Undrafted rookies Howard Cross III — a predicted 53-manner of mine — and Eric Gregory will be counted on, at least it appears, to be key rotational pieces on the d-line. Gregory was stout against the run last season at Arknasas, with an 82.3 PFF grade.
Meanwhile, Cross is more of an interior pass-rushing threat, which the Bengals desperately need from their tackle group. First-year defensive coordinator Al Golden was in the same role at Notre Dame and oversaw Cross' development.
What could've been a squandered training camp invitation driven by sheer familiarity instead proved fruitful. I'm sure Golden pounded the table for Cross, and the former Notre Dame standout has done nothing but deliver.
All that said about Cross and Gregory, all the positivity? I'd be shocked if the Bengals didn't look outside the building for a more viable, experienced d-tackle in the next several days. It'd also be disappointing if they didn't kick the tires on other defensive ends, considering the depth chart, excluding Hendrickson and rookie first-rounder/athletic freakazoid Shemar Stewart looks pretty rough at that spot.
Then, we have the offensive line piece of this. Only keeping eight is a bold strategy, Cotton. Whatever happens on d-line will be more about building the back end of the rotation. I still think it's possible recent free-agent visitor Dalton Risner signs on to be the starting right guard. At the very least, the Bengals need to explore beyond their locker room for a viable swing tackle, and preferably, depth at guard.
Rookie fifth-round pick Jalen Rivers has shown out well at right guard, especially in comparison to bargain-bin prospective starter Lucas Patrick. Banking on Dylan Fairchild at left guard and Rivers at right would be a lot to ask of two youngsters in their first NFL seasons, though.
Expect some follow-up moves to hit transaction wires and render this just-released Bengals 53-man roster slightly tweaked/inaccurate. At least I hope that's the plan. The depth is pretty darn good everywhere else, but the game of football starts up front, and Cincinnati is either thin or subpar in both those trenches relative to most other Super Bowl hopefuls.