Bengals 53-man roster projection heading into final week of preseason

The last week of preseason isn't the most flattering week of football, but it's arguably the most important for the majority of the NFL. Hundreds of fringe roster players will have one more shot to stake their claim on a roster spot, or just play well enough to earn a practice squad invitation. The Cincinnati […]

John Sheeran — Cincinnati Bengals News Writer

Aug 22, 2023 9:08 AM EDT

The Cincinnati Bengals didn't have a lot of roster spots available when the preseason began, and they have fewer available with cutdown day just a week away. Who's on track to make the cut, and who needs a phenomenal final showing this week? Here's our 53-man roster projection leading up to the Bengals' preseason finale against the Washington Commanders.

Note: Players with single asterisk (*) are 2023 draft picks and players with double asterisks (**) are 2023 undrafted free agents.

Quarterback (2)

IN: Joe Burrow, Jake Browning
OUT: Trevor Siemian, Reid Sinnett

The skinny: I'm tired of trying to decipher who wins the backup job. It feels like it's flipped back and forth between Browning and Siemian, but maybe nothing's truly changed. Browning has played slightly better of late.

Running back (4)

IN: Joe Mixon, Trayveon Williams, Chris Evans, Chase Brown*
OUT: Calvin Tyler Jr.**, Jacob Saylors**

The skinny: The hope for Evans to turn his career around is still alive, despite the piss-poor blocking he and Brown have had to deal with this preseason. Williams should be a full participant in practice soon enough, and passing down responsibilities between him and Evans might end up being split when the season begins.

Wide receiver (7)

IN: Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd, Trenton Irwin, Stanley Morgan Jr., Charlie Jones*, Andrei Iosivas*,
OUT: Trent Taylor, Kwamie Lassiter II, Shedrick Jackson**, Malachi Carter**, Mac Hippenhammer**

The skinny: Darrin Simmons will go down swinging to keep at least one of his special teams aces. Morgan is still invaluable as a gunner and keeping seven at this position is more than justifiable. Jones looked more improved last week, and Iosivas continues to impress with a heavy workload and target share.

Tight end (3)

IN: Irv Smith Jr., Mitchell Wilcox, Drew Sample
OUT: Tanner Hudson, Devin Asiasi, Nick Bowers, Christian Trahan**

The skinny: With Wilcox coming off the PUP list, the Bengals will have their No. 2 at the position to start the season. The question remains if a third is even on the roster? Hudson needs to play this week to get back ahead of Sample.

Offensive line (9)

IN: Orlando Brown Jr., Cordell Volson, Ted Karras, Alex Cappa, Jonah Williams, D'Ante Smith, Max Scharping, Trey Hill, Jackson Carman
OUT: Hakeem Adeniji, Cody Ford, Nate Gilliam, Ben Brown, Jaxson Kirkland**
PUP: La'el Collins
IR: Devin Cochran

The skinny: A move back to left tackle proved to be good for Carman last week, which essentially confirms that he's a one-position backup. Considering the cost cut him might be too high this year, he'll likely stick around as an emergency reserve who is inactive on game days. That leaves Smith as the swing tackle, Scharping as the swing interior player, and one of either Ford or Hill, and the latter is coming off a better game.

Defensive line (10)

IN: Trey Hendrickson, DJ Reader, B.J. Hill, Sam Hubbard, Joseph Ossai, Cam Sample, Zach Carter, Josh Tupou, Myles Murphy*, Domenique Davis
OUT: Raymond Johnson III, Jeff Gunter, Jay Tufele, Tarell Basham, Owen Carney, Tautala Pesefea**
IR: Devonnsha Maxwell**

The skinny: No one has improved their stock more in preseason action than Davis, who looks like he has the edge over Tufele after last weekend. He sports a pass rush win rate of nearly 16% this month and leads the team in pressures generated. Johnson has been equally if not more impressive off the edge, but with that group already five-deep, it may make more sense to carry a fifth interior defender in Davis.

Linebacker (5)

IN: Logan Wilson, Germaine Pratt, Akeem Davis-Gaither, Markus Bailey, Joe Bachie
OUT: Keandre Jones, Shaka Heyward**, Jaylen Moody**, Tyler Murray**

The skinny: None of the undrafted guys have looked capable of supplanting Bachie just yet, so the preseason finale will be about which of them can secure a practice squad spot.

Cornerback (6)

IN: Chidobe Awuzie, Cam Taylor-Britt, Mike Hilton, DJ Turner II*, Jalen Davis, DJ Ivey*
OUT: Sidney Jones IV, Allan George, Marvin Tell III

The skinny: Ivey showing up in a big moment last weekend while Jones couldn't play says all we need to know about who's got that sixth spot in their sights.

Safety (4)

IN: Dax Hill, Nick Scott, Jordan Battle*, Tycen Anderson
OUT: Michael Thomas, Yusuf Corker, Larry Brooks III**

The skinny: Perhaps the toughest cut will be Thomas, who is a special teams staple but is also fifth on the depth chart at a position where four makes the most sense, especially with all four being pretty good. Thomas would be brought back on the practice squad and called up for as many game days as possible for his special teams prowess if this is the case.

Special Teams (3)

IN: Cal Adomitis (LS), Brad Robbins* (P), Evan McPherson (K)
OUT: Drue Chrisman (P)

The skinny: Robbins continues to look good punting and holding. His average hang time so far is 4.33 seconds. Chrisman got in his first punt of the preseason last week and will get a few more to show for other teams who need a punter.

Bengals roster battle updates after Week 2 of preseason

One more week of preseason remains for several Bengals players to state their case. Here are the frontrunners for each important roster battle remaining.