We’re 40 days away from the Cincinnati Bengals’ preseason finale against the Philadelphia Eagles. Each and every day leading up to the end of the preseason, we’ll be profiling a player on the Bengals’ 90-man roster. Check out previous player profiles here.

The next player on the countdown has become valuable for Cincinnati rather quickly.

Joe Giles-Harris Player Profile

Age: 29
Year: 3rd
Position: Linebacker
College: Duke
Jersey Number: 43

Joe Giles-Harris was originally signed as an undrafted free agent by the Jacksonville Jaguars following the 2019 NFL Draft. Prior to the NFL, Giles-Harris spent four years at Duke (2015-18) and started all 34 games he played for the Blue Devils. In both 2017 and 2018, he was the recipient of the Vincent Rey Award, presented to the program’s most outstanding linebacker. Rey played all nine years of his career in Cincinnati and has been the team’s chaplain for the last five years.

Jacksonville played Giles-Haris in a handful of games his rookie season. His most active season was in 2020 when he played in nine games. He later spent time with the Buffalo Bills, and New England Patriots before the Bengals came into the picture late in 2024. He was waived after a week, and was claimed by the Jags for the final two games of the season. Cincinnati signed him back in the offseason.

Giles-Harris played in 10 games for the Bengals last year after he watched the first seven on the practice squad. Despite only playing just over half the year, he ranked first in special teams tackles (14), second in special teams grade (90.8) and eighth in special teams snaps (190), according to Pro Football Focus.

Contract details

Giles-Harris signed a one-year, $1,235,000 extension with the Bengals in the first days of the offseason. His base salary for 2026 is $1,215,000, and he’s also earning $20,000 as a workout bonus. His cash figure and salary cap hit for the year is the same $1,235,000 amount.

Roster outlook

Cincinnati saw something in Giles-Harris in just a week back in 2024 to retain him for 2025. Once he took the field for good late in the season, he proved why he belongs atop Darrin Simmons’ special teams brigade.

The Bengals are likely to keep five linebackers on the initial 53-man roster. The bottom three behind starters Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight Jr. are going to be relied on for special teams, and Giles-Harris has the best case out of anyone in the group.

Giles-Harris doesn’t have any contractual security forcing the club to keep him, and yet, I feel very confident in him making the team barring a disastrous preseason.

Roster odds: 95%