NFL rarity occurs at the Bengals' expense as key practice squad player finds a new home
The Cincinnati Bengals' practice squad is now a bit smaller as KJ Henry is off to Texas. Per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, the Dallas Cowboys are signing edge defender KJ Henry to their active roster off Cincinnati's practice squad. Henry's new deal will be for two years. It's rare enough for NFL players to be signed […]
The Cincinnati Bengals' practice squad is now a bit smaller as KJ Henry is off to Texas.
Per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, the Dallas Cowboys are signing edge defender KJ Henry to their active roster off Cincinnati's practice squad. Henry's new deal will be for two years.
It's rare enough for NFL players to be signed off practice squads to active rosters elsewhere, but a two-year deal is extremely rare to see. Practice squad players don't have a lot of leverage when it comes to contracts, so the Cowboys aren't hiding how badly they wanted Henry to bolster their defensive line.
Henry was originally claimed off waivers by the Bengals prior to the regular season to account for Myles Murphy's knee injury that landed him on the Reserve/Injured list. He wasn't a major contributor through the first two weeks of the season as he logged just 11 snaps on defense. He was eventually waived by the Bengals to fit Lawrence Guy Sr. on the roster and subsequently added back to the practice squad.
Despite losing his roster spot, Henry was still a key member of the practice squad due to the injury situation at edge defender. Trey Hendrickson is currently dealing with a stinger, Sam Hubbard is still recovering from a hamstring injury, and Murphy hasn't been cleared to practice (yet). The Bengals now have four edges on the active roster and one remaining on the practice squad in Isaiah Thomas.
Murphy is likely to return to practice this week, which should soon be followed by him activated to the roster. In the mean time, the Bengals will have to hang tight at one of their thinnest positions.
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