Bengals 2025 Roster Breakdown: Charlie Jones enters third season with more momentum than ever

Jones is starting to become firmly established within Cincinnati’s receiving corps.

John Sheeran — Cincinnati Bengals News Writer
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Aug 18, 2025; Landover, Maryland, USA; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Charlie Jones (15) looks on during player introductions prior to the game against Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium.
Aug 18, 2025; Landover, Maryland, USA; Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Charlie Jones (15) looks on during player introductions prior to the game against Washington Commanders at Northwest Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images © Amber Searls-Imagn Images

Bengals roster breakdown is back! During the 99 days leading up to Cincinnati’s regular season opener against the Cleveland Browns, the player with the matching jersey number as days remaining will become the day’s highlighted player.

15 days remain until the Bengals’ first game of the 2025 season, and we’re highlighting a winner from training camp in No. 15 Charlie Jones.

Charlie Jones

Age: 26
Year: 3rd
Position: Wide receiver
College: Purdue
Previous Teams: None
Jersey Number: 15

Jones enters his third season in the NFL and with the Bengals after being drafted 131st overall in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft. He spent one year at Purdue following two years at Iowa and another at Buffalo. The Boilermakers utilized him to the fullest as he led the country with 110 receptions and produced a Big Ten-leading 1,361 yards with 12 touchdowns to boot. He also returned 121 combined kickoffs and punts during his college days.

Cincinnati envisioned using Jones’ return skills immediately and saw the vision fulfilled in his second-career game with an 81-yard punt return for a touchdown, the club’s first punt return TD in 11 years. His rookie season was then hindered with a thumb injury and he only averaged 7.6 yards per return outside his touchdown. His 2024 season was also impacted by a preseason knee injury and a groin injury that took him out of the final nine games. He only caught one pass last year and has just eight for his career thus far.

Contract Details

Jones is in the third year of his four-year, $4,518,776 rookie contract. He can earn a base salary of $1.03 million this year, and when adding on his signing bonus proration of $169,694, his salary cap hit for the season amounts to $1,199,694.

Roster Outlook

Injuries put Jones behind the 8 ball entering this offseason, which is what makes what transpired all the more promising. The 26-year old has stayed healthy and made notable progress throughout practices and in-game preseason action. He’s gotten work with the starters as Joe Burrow made an effort to get other receivers below Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins reps with the ones, and he’s made a positive impression on everyone involved.

While an immense jump in production is not necessarily expected (there’s only one ball to go around), Jones has never entered a season with this much trust and positive momentum. He’s safely one of the top four wideouts on this team, and that should lead to opportunities he’s never seen before.

Projected role: First wide receiver off the bench

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