The Cincinnati Bengals' 53-man roster for the 2025 season should see at least some tweaks in the wake of Tuesday's initial announcement.
Given the lack of depth on the offensive line and defensive lines, those are areas you'd have to think Cincinnati is looking to improve via outside help. Who the Bengals have in the building right now probably won't cut it. An injury or two to either unit could derail things pretty quickly.
An inevitable reality of all 32 teams hacking their rosters from 90 to 53 players is that a lot of quality prospects will hit the waiver wire. Although the Bengals are in the middle of the pack of that queue, there's a duo of New England Patriots who'd be worthy additions to Cincinnati's 53-man group.
Bengals must consider waived Patriots Cole Strange and Bradyn Swinson
When the Pats revealed their first 53-man roster of 2025, sure, maybe former first-round pick Cole Strange being among the cuts wasn't that out of pocket. Whether it's a merit-based decision of on-field performance, or a desire for the new coaching staff to get "their guys" in the fold, Strange was left out in the cold in Foxborough.
I've written about Strange's potential fit with the Bengals amid prior rumors that he was on New England's roster bubble. However, that was in the context of a Trey Hendrickson trade scenario. Now that Trey is in the fold in Cincinnati for 2025, the Bengals wouldn't have to give anything up for Strange. That'd be pretty sweet, no?
But then you've got Bradyn Swinson, who became a full-time starter only last season at LSU, yet made a very strong impression. Per PFF, Swinson had 8.5 sacks and a whopping 43 QB pressures for the Tigers. I say that type of production to bring him to the Jungle in Cincinnati!
Allow me to defer to the venerated PFF draft guru Trevor Sikkema to explain Swinson's gridiron chops. Well worth the 49-second watch:
LSU’s Bradyn Swinson is one of the most underrated players in the 2025 NFL Draft🐯 pic.twitter.com/Kzh5g1WiAT
— PFF College (@PFF_College) March 21, 2025
The Bengals' defensive end group outside of Hendrickson is lacking, especially in the pass rush department. We'll see what first-round pick Shemar Stewart can do as a rookie, but his 4.5 sacks in three years at Texas A&M don't bode well for immediate NFL production.
Whatever Swinson lacked to wear out his welcome so quickly as a fifth-round pick in New England, I'm sure he'd be a more impactful situational rusher for the Bengals than just about anyone else in their rotation.
A lot of fans seem unready to ever give up on Joseph Ossai. We've also got Cam Sample coming off a torn Achilles, causing him to miss all of 2024. As an NFL sophomore, 2023 first-round pick Myles Murphy had zero sacks. Sorry to say the following to those of you in Who Dey Nation who believe in this crew: We don't have a lot of world beaters at the defensive end position. Let's just leave it at that.
Swinson was widely expected to be a Day 2 draft pick. Maybe there's some unknown issue with him, but heck, why not take a flier on him, especially on the waiver wire, where he can be had for such a minimal cost?
I really think Cole Strange and Bradyn Swinson should be targeted via waiver claims. It's a red flag that the Patriots cut both of them loose, given that they're not exactly flush with elite talent or depth. But hey, maybe a change of scenery is all that's needed for this duo to flourish.
I'm just saying, it feels like the Bengals could do far worse as far as finding depth solutions to their biggest problem-area position corps.