There have been 24 draftees selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the past three years. Only Tyler Shelvin and Wyatt Hubert are no longer with the team. However, those two could be joined by others in a little over a month and a half.
For one reason or another, some young guys have not had many opportunities to show what they are fully capable of in meaningful action. A few are stuck behind a logjam of talent at their position group. Others will be pushed down the depth chart due to new incoming draft picks and free agents.
No matter the reason, we have come to expect such transactions. This is the ecosystem of the NFL. Out with the "old new," in with the "new new." Here are four recent draft picks who could be cut this summer.
Jeff Gunter
Jeff Gunter was selected in the seventh round of the 2022 draft. Nothing is guaranteed as a seventh-rounder. Still, Gunter impressed the coaches enough last year to maintain his place on the roster.
Jeffrey Gunter’s get off and pursuit of the quarterback in preseason game 1 was nice to see. This guy is looking like a steal late in the draft. He times snaps well with a high motor and is a menace as a pass rusher. Production year 1 incoming! #RuleTheJungle #Bengals #WhoDey pic.twitter.com/te0EGNFLoD
— GameOn513 (@gameonjmoney) August 14, 2022
Gunter has appeared in 10 regular season games and has recorded one tackle to this point.
The former Coastal Carolina Chanticleer must hold off a push for a roster spot from formidable competition in players like Raymond Johnson III and Cam Sample this summer.
The Bengals kept six edge rushers on the roster on cutdown day last season, placing Khalid Kareem on IR shortly afterward. The first four spots are already filled, belonging to Trey Hendrickson, Sam Hubbard, Myles Murphy, and Joseph Ossai.
If the team carries five on the active roster, as they did after placing Kareem on IR, there will be a Royal Rumble for the final spot. Cam Sample, Johnson, Gunter, Tarell Basham, and Owen Carney fighting for the last pass-rushing role will be highly entertaining to watch play out during training camp and the preseason.
With the first-round selection of Murphy, there is one less place on this year’s roster for an edge defender a year ago. Even if the team holds on to six defensive ends, Gunter could be on the outside looking in.