The Cincinnati Bengals' 53-man roster is up there with some of the elite in the league right now. They could make it even better, but now that the waiver wire deadline has lapsed, the 16-man practice squad has been revealed.
Roster cuts were absolutely brutal. Past Day 2 draft picks like McKinnley Jackson and Isaiah Foskey were waived due to how loaded Cincinnati's defensive line is. Nickelback Bralyn Lux was a promising undrafted free agent last year who just missed out on the active roster yet again.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Most of the Bengals' taxi squad guys are familiar faces. Known commodities who know the system and the culture. Many of them were worthy of roster spots elsewhere. Let's dive into who these cats are and break down some of the biggest notables.
Big ups to NBC 5 Cincinnati's Charlie Clifford as the exclusive source for all these practice squad signees unless otherwise indicated. The Bengals announced 11 confirmed players on Monday and the final five on Tuesday.
Tracking the 2026 Cincinnati Bengals practice squad roster
- CB Trikweze Bridges
- RB Kentrel Bullock
- QB Sean Clifford
- DT Howard Cross III
- DE Isaiah Foskey
- OT Blake Freeland
- LB Joe Giles-Harris
- LB Shaka Heyward
- TE Tanner Hudson
- QB Josh Johnson
- CB Bralyn Lux
- RB Kendall Milton
- WR Jordan Moore
- DE Garmon Randolph
- WR Noah Thomas
- S Russ Yeast
Bralyn Lux actually got a shout out in The Athletic today from Daniel Popper as the No. 1 player who could make an impact on a new team. When you're atop a waiver wire big board, you're doing something right. What a relief to get him back!
Bengals claim Eagles OT Myles Hinton; release/re-sign TE Tanner Hudson to practice squad
The big news from the waiver wire action was the fact that Cincinnati claimed ex-Eagles sixth-round pick Myles Hinton, per Netflix's Tom Pelissero.
Cincinnati's necessarily air-quoted swing tackle "competition" was something of a joke in training camp, so it's no wonder Hinton is on the 53-man roster. Jalen Rivers was panic-moved out there once he flopped so miserably at guard. He's the worst player on the initial 53-man roster. Default swing tackle Javon Foster ain't much better.
I thought for sure Rivers or Foster would be the corresponding cut to bringing Hinton aboard. Nope. Per Charlie Clifford, it's tight end Tanner Hudson.
Don't know much about Hinton. His PFF blocking grades improved across the board from this preseason to last. Dude is listed at 342 pounds. Fits right into the Bengals' jumbo tackle room with Orlando Brown Jr. and Amarius Mims, who both tip the scales at a ho-hum, necessarily-capitalized abbreviation 350 LBS.
Since he's a vested veteran and not a waiver candidate, I'd expect Hudson to sign to the practice squad in short order. Hudson has a legit path back to the active roster anyway. This is just a savvy short-term maneuver, I reckon.
Update: Clifford reported that Hudson has indeed re-signed to the Bengals practice squad.
More Bengals practice squad roster analysis
Russ Yeast sticking around ain't a surprise. Could envision him getting the call up to the active roster on occasion to help with special teams. Or maybe not now that the position isn't totally incompetent! How refreshing! Thank you Bryan Cook and Kyle Dugger!
Cool to see Sean Clifford get a shot to keep developing in Cincy. He played well enough in the preseason at quarterback (95.7 passer rating), although I'm a little miffed as to why Josh Johnson wasn't considered for the 53-man crew.
Four teams around the league initially kept four QBs on the active roster. Don't understand how Johnson wouldn't be a major asset to the Joe Burrow-Joe Flacco QB room.
- Update: Josh Johnson is back on the Bengals practice squad, per Adam Schefter
YES! The amount of football knowledge in the Bengals QB room is absurd. Let's hope nobody poaches Johnson off the practice squad. Again, I would strongly consider just keeping him on the 53.
Anyway, moving on. I'm shocked that Kendall Milton is back as a practice squad running back. I'm thrilled that Kentrel Bullock is, but I was really hoping the rookie UDFA tandem of Bullock and Jamal Haynes would return. I doubt the Bengals keep three backs on the p-squad.
CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz reported that defensive end Isaiah Foskey was returning. The 40th overall pick in the 2023 draft keeps hanging tough. Helps to have had shared time at Notre Dame with Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden.
Foskey had 1.5 sacks in the preseason finale and could've made the roster if the d-line hadn't been so reinforced. He's still only 25.
Early call: Howard Cross III will be the second Notre Dame Golden protege to re-up with the practice squad. Cross made the initial 53-man roster last year. Look how far we've come!
Had to save the above copy for posterity once Cross signed! WHO DEY!
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