Bengals 2025 Roster Breakdown: Dante Barnett's unorthodox football journey lands him in Cincinnati
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.69 days remain until the Bengals' first game of the 2025 season, which nicely takes us to one of the […]
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.
69 days remain until the Bengals' first game of the 2025 season, which nicely takes us to one of the most unique players on our countdown in No. 69 Dante Barnett.
Dante Barnett
Age: 22
Year: Rookie
Position: Defensive tackle
College: Dickinson College
Previous Teams: None
Jersey Number: 69
Barnett enters his first season in the Bengals after going undrafted during the 2025 NFL Draft. He signed with the Bengals as part of the International Player Pathway program (IPP). He's of Jamaican descent but grew up in Birmingham, England who eventually landed in American football as his path in sports after trying Rugby and English football. As a teenager he developed his craft at England's NFL Academy. He then moved to the U.S. to pursue college football and ended up at Dickinson College, where he played during the 2022 season.
A few more years of training while working at a car manufacturing plant and Barnett came back to the States to work out at the University of South Florida's pro day as part of the IPP. He was one of 13 international players in this year's class for the program. He signed with the Bengals as one of 14 UDFAs.
Contract Details
Barnett is in the first year of his three-year, $2.97 college free agent deal he signed in May. He's already earned a $5,000 signing bonus and can earn a base salary of $840,000. His potential cash earnings for this season is $845,000.
When adding on his signing bonus proration of $1,666, Barnett's salary cap hit for the 2025 season is $841,666.
Roster Outlook
Barnett has the safest path out of every undrafted rookie to stay in Cincinnati this year. The IPP allows teams to carry an extra member of the 90-man roster and eventually the 16-man practice squad. If the Bengals so desire, Barnett will make it through the entire offseason and stick around for the season on the practice squad without sacrificing a spot for someone else.
Making the actual 53-man roster, on the other hand, will be extremely tough for Barnett. He's going against two other UDFA DTs in Howard Cross III and Eric Gregory for potentially one spot which may not even exist. Injuries can and likely will shake things up in the coming weeks, but it's an uphill battle for Barnett regardless. His goal should be to stay healthy and learn as much as possible so he can make a real push in 2026.
Projected role: Reserve defensive tackle
Previous Player Profiles
- No. 99: Myles Murphy
- No. 98: T.J. Slaton Jr.
- No. 97: Shemar Stewart
- No. 96: Cam Sample
- No. 95: Howard Cross III
- No. 94: Eric Gregory
- No. 93: McKinnley Jackson
- No. 92: B.J. Hill
- No. 91: Trey Hendrickson
- No. 90: Kris Jenkins Jr.
- No. 89: Drew Sample
- No. 88: Mike Gesicki
- No. 87: Tanner Hudson
- No. 86: Kole Taylor
- No. 85: Cam Grandy
- No. 84: Tanner McLachlan
- No. 83: Erick All Jr.
- No. 82: Mitchell Tinsley
- No. 81: Jermaine Burton
- No. 80: Andrei Iosivas
- No. 79: Andrew Coker
- No. 77: Caleb Etienne
- No. 76: Devin Cochran
- No. 75: Orlando Brown Jr.
- No. 74: Jalen Rivers
- No. 73: Andrew Stueber
- No. 71: Amarius Mims
Bengals 2025 Roster Breakdown: Howard Cross III looking to stay playing under Al Golden for at least another year
Cross was the only Notre Dame alum Al Golden brought with him to Cincinnati this year.
