Bengals 53-man roster prediction after preseason Week 1

The Cincinnati Bengals have completed their first preseason game of 2023. While it was a double-digit loss to the Green Bay Packers, the score doesn't matter as much as the right players showing up and proving themselves.

This is the time when the players on the roster bubble need to show what they can contribute to this team. It's also the time for those in a competition battle to show why they're the right man for the job.

With one preseason game out of the way, let's take our best guess at what the Cincinnati Bengals' 53-man roster might look like when Week 1 rolls around next month.

Bengals 53-man roster prediction

Quarterback (2): Joe Burrow, Trevor Siemian

While some people might take the Bengals starting Jake Browning over Trevor Siemian as their way of saying they like Browning better, I'm still going to predict that Siemian wins the QB2 job simply due to his experience in the league. He wasn't good in the preseason opener but he also had third-stringers protecting him, or lack thereof.

Running Back (3): Joe Mixon, Chase Brown, Trayveon Williams

If Chris Evans plays as well as he did on Friday night, this could get more interesting. Would the Bengals consider keeping four running backs on the roster?

Wide Receiver (7): Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd, Trenton Irwin, Charlie Jones, Andrei Iosivas, Stanley Morgan Jr.

While it might not make sense to keep seven wide receivers, I'm doing so because I don't see the Bengals wanting to part with Morgan. He's been on the team for several years now and has been a special teams standout.

Tight End (3): Irv Smith Jr., Drew Sample, Mitchell Wilcox

The weakest position on the team only has one spot for sure locked up and that's Smith. Sample probably makes the team due to his familiarity with the offense. I went with Wilcox over Asiasi because he was the better option this past year.

Offensive Line (10): Orlando Brown Jr., D'Ante Smith, Cordell Volson, Max Scharping, Ted Karras, Ben Brown, Alex Cappa, Jaxson Kirkland, Jonah Williams, La'el Collins

We know who the five starters are so then it becomes about who the backups will be. Jackson Carman's time with the team could be coming to an end if he continues to put up disastrous performances, such as the one he had on Friday against Green Bay.

Defensive Line (10): Sam Hubbard, B.J. Hill, D.J. Reader, Trey Hendrickson, Joseph Ossai, Zach Carter, Cam Sample, Myles Murphy, Jay Tufele, Josh Tupou

Jay Tufele showed enough in the preseason opener that I think he makes it onto the final roster. In turn, that'd bump off Tarell Basham who we haven't gotten to see much of to this point due to injury.

Linebacker (5): Logan Wilson, Germaine Pratt, Akeem Davis-Gaither, Joe Bachie, Markus Bailey

Maybe the Bengals end up carrying only four linebackers and if that's the case, Bachie or Bailey will be fighting for the final spot. I'll predict they keep all five here though.

Cornerback (5): Chidobe Awuzie, Cam Taylor-Britt, Mike Hilton, D.J. Turner, Jalen Davis

The first four are locks. Davis played well when forced to step up last year so I'll go with him as my pick for the final cornerback spot.

Safety (5): Dax Hill, Nick Scott, Tycen Anderson, Jordan Battle, Michael Thomas

Not much up for debate here. Anderson might have been on the roster bubble before but his performance in the preseason opener pretty much guaranteed him a spot on the team.

Special Teams (3): Evan McPherson, Brad Robbins, Cal Adomitis

The only real competition here is at the punter spot but Robbins is the favorite to win it and likely will. The Bengals didn't draft a punter in the sixth round to not utilize him.