Bengals 2025 Roster Breakdown: Maema Njongmeta's special teams experience gives him upper hand entering second season

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.45 days remain until the Bengals' first game of the 2025 season, which puts us in front of No. 45 […]

John Sheeran — Cincinnati Bengals News Writer
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Jul 23, 2025; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Maema Njongmeta (45) catches a pass during training camp at Kettering Health Practice Field.
© Katie Stratman-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.

45 days remain until the Bengals' first game of the 2025 season, which puts us in front of No. 45 Maema Njongmeta. 

Maema Njongmeta

Age: 24
Year: 2nd
Position: Linebacker
College: Wisconsin
Previous Teams: None
Jersey Number: 45

Njongmeta enters his second season in the NFL and with the Bengals after going undrafted during the 2024 NFL Draft. He spent four years at Wisconsin and played in 33 games with 21 starts at linebacker. He was named Third Team All-Big Ten during his first year as a starter in 2022 when he led the Badgers with 95 tackles.

Cincinnati inserted a rookie Njongmeta in a competition for the final linebacker spot last year, and he responded by leading the defense in tackles during preseason action. That production combined with his special teams tape won him the roster spot for the season and he ended up appearing in all 17 games and leading the Bengals in special teams snaps (371). He took defensive snaps in eight games as well, mostly during the second-half of the year.

Contract Details

Njongmeta is in the second year of his three-year, $2.845 million college free agent deal he signed last offseason. He can earn a non-guaranteed $960,000 base salary this season, which amounts to his total potential cash earnings as well.

When adding on his signing bonus proration of $5,000, Njongmeta's salary cap hit for the season is $965,000. 

Roster Outlook

Cincinnati changed plenty of its linebacking corps this offseason with two draft picks and a free agent signing, but Njongmeta's roster spot is still his to lose as throwing out all of those special teams reps would be inadvisable. His main competition was Shaka Heyward last year, and that remains the case 12 months later. The two former UDFAs will push each other again during training camp and three weeks of preseason to determine LB5 on the depth chart. 

Perhaps six are kept and both Njongmeta and Heyward make the cut. That would benefit the latter much more since the former should have the inside track at keeping his locker. 

Roster odds: 60%
Projected role: Reserve linebacker

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