HEADLINES

Cincinnati Bengals News & Rumors

NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/17/21

May 17th, 2021 at 3:54pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

The Bengals were busy on Monday, inking all seven of their Day 3 picks to their rookie deals. We’ll keep track of all of today’s draft pick signings below:

Cincinnati Bengals

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Eagles Sign Ryan Kerrigan

May 17th, 2021 at 9:13am CST by Zachary Links

Ryan Kerrigan is staying in the NFC East. On Monday morning, Kerrigan bid farewell to the Washington Football Team. And, minutes later, we learned that he’s agreed to join up with the Eagles (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). The Eagles have since confirmed the signing as a one-year deal. 

“I’ll never be able to sum up what these past ten years have meant to me in an Instagram post, but what I can say is that they have been some of the best of my life,” Kerrigan wrote (Instagram link). “I hope you had as much fun watching me as I did playing for you. Thank you, Washington, for everything.”

Up until now, the former first-round pick had spent his entire career in D.C. Along the way, he collected four Pro Bowl nominations and 95.5 sacks to top Dexter Manley for the franchise record. Kerrigan started every game for his first nine seasons with the club. But, last year, he was mostly relegated to a reserve role and notched just 5.5 sacks for Ron Rivera. As a result, it was widely expected that he would move on.

Now, the 32-year-old (33 in August) will suit up for his longtime rival. The Steelers and Bengals (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter) also showed interest, but he felt that the Eagles would be his best fit. Currently, he profiles as the Birds’ No. 4 DE, likely behind Brandon Graham, Derek Barnett, and Josh Sweat.

With Kerrigan off the board, other edge-needy teams can still consider the likes of Melvin Ingram, Justin Houston, Everson Griffen, Olivier Vernon, Ezekiel Ansah, Dion Jordan, and Adrian Clayborn.

Bengals To Sign Trent Taylor

May 17th, 2021 at 8:55am CST by Zachary Links

The Bengals are set to sign Trent Taylor (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Mike Garafolo). The slot receiver/punt returner auditioned for the club over the weekend and emerged from rookie minicamp with a deal. 

The Niners selected Taylor in the fifth round of the 2017 draft. As a member of Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch‘s first class in San Francisco, he showed early promise as a rookie. Unfortunately, he had to undergo back surgery prior to the 2018 season — Taylor says he never felt fully healthy that year. Then, he missed all of the 2019 season.

Taylor returned last year, but recorded just ten grabs for 86 yards in 12 games. On the plus side, he averaged 12.4 yards on his nine punt returns.

Now, he’ll look to get back to his old form with the Bengals. Both sides will be pleased if Taylor’s able to stick on the roster and reprise his 43 grabs for 430 yards and two TDs.

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/14/21

May 14th, 2021 at 8:30pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Cincinnati Bengals

New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles

Bengals Sign 6 UDFAs

May 14th, 2021 at 9:47am CST by Zachary Links

The Bengals have signed six undrafted free agents, per a club announcement:

Phillips capped his collegiate career with an All-MAC selection and helped Ball State beat San Jose State for the school’s first bowl game win. All in all, he notched 137 tackles, eight interceptions, and 18 pass deflections in college. Phillips fully expected to be drafted after earning an invite to the combine, but surgery for a herniated lumbar disc held him back. Now, he’ll look to earn his spot on the Bengals’ Week 1 roster.

Steven Nelson Has Interest From Texans, Bears, Eagles, Bengals, Bills

May 12th, 2021 at 12:37pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

One of the top free agents left on the market is cornerback Steven Nelson. The Steelers released Nelson back on March 23rd, and he’s remained unsigned ever since.

That being said, it sounds like he’s unsigned still by choice, not because of lack of interest. Nelson’s “market has been strong,” and he’s received interest from 14 teams including the Texans, Bears, Eagles, Bengals, and Bills, a source told Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Fowler adds that Nelson is choosing to be “patient waiting for right fit and opportunity.” Nelson was originally drafted by the Chiefs in the third-round in 2015. After a 2018 season where he had four interceptions for Kansas City, he signed a three-year, $25.5MM pact with the Steelers. He then started 30 games for Pittsburgh over the last two seasons, and had nine passes defended and two interceptions in 2020.

Nelson has been a solid starter, and has received strong marks from Pro Football Focus. In fact over the last two years, PFF has him graded as the NFL’s 11th-best cornerback. He could be a boost to plenty of teams in need of help in the secondary, and will likely get some significant money from somebody.

Bengals, Vikings Interested In Dede Westbrook

May 10th, 2021 at 10:14am CST by Zachary Links

The Bengals and Vikings have had conversations with Dede Westbrook (Twitter link via Josina Anderson). The wide receiver is also being recruited by Chiefs players, Anderson hears, though the front office’s interest level is unclear.

Westbrook went down in late October against the Chargers on an ill-fated kick return. Soon after he was carted off of the field, doctors confirmed that his year was through. The Oklahoma product is now more than six months removed from his ACL tear and plans to be ready before training camp in August.

Before all of that, Westbrook recorded 66 grabs in both 2018 and 2019 for an average of 699 yards and four touchdowns per slate. He was hoping to build on that last year — instead, he played in just two games between the ACL tear and a separate early season injury.

Westbrook would make sense for the Bengals,. Even after selecting Ja’Marr Chase at No. 5 overall, the departures of A.J. Green, John Ross, and Alex Erickson have left them fairly thin at wide receiver. Meanwhile, the Vikings would give him a great opportunity to bounce back, particularly given the presence of Keenan McCardell, his old WR coach in Jacksonville.

2021 NFL Draft Results By Round

May 1st, 2021 at 5:57pm CST by Zachary Links

The 2021 NFL Draft is here! We’ll be keeping tabs here, from pick No. 1 through No. 259:

Round 1

1) Jacksonville Jaguars: Trevor Lawrence, QB (Clemson)
2) New York Jets: Zach Wilson, QB (BYU)
3) San Francisco 49ers (from Texans via Dolphins): Trey Lance, QB (North Dakota State)
4) Atlanta Falcons: Kyle Pitts, TE (Florida)
5) Cincinnati Bengals: Ja’Marr Chase, WR (LSU)
6) Miami Dolphins (from Eagles): Jaylen Waddle, WR (Alabama)
7) Detroit Lions: Penei Sewell, OT (Oregon)
8) Carolina Panthers: Jaycee Horn, CB (South Carolina)
9) Denver Broncos: Patrick Surtain II, CB (Alabama)
10) Philadelphia Eagles (from Cowboys): DeVonta Smith, WR (Alabama)
11) Chicago Bears (from Giants): Justin Fields, QB (Ohio State)
12) Dallas Cowboys (from 49ers via Dolphins via Eagles): Micah Parsons, LB (Penn State)
13) Los Angeles Chargers: Rashawn Slater, OT (Northwestern)
14) New York Jets (from Vikings): Alijah Vera-Tucker, OL (USC)
15) New England Patriots: Mac Jones, QB (Alabama)
16) Arizona Cardinals: Zaven Collins, LB (Tulsa)
17) Las Vegas Raiders: Alex Leatherwood, OL (Alabama)
18) Miami Dolphins: Jaelan Phillips, DL (Miami)
19) Washington Football Team: Jamin Davis, LB (Kentucky)
20) New York Giants (from Bears): Kadarius Toney, WR (Florida)
21) Indianapolis Colts: Kwity Paye, DL (Michigan)
22) Tennessee Titans: Caleb Farley, CB (Virginia Tech)
23) Minnesota Vikings (from Seahawks via Jets): Christian Darrisaw, OT (Virginia Tech)
24) Pittsburgh Steelers: Najee Harris, RB (Alabama)
25) Jacksonville Jaguars (from Rams): Travis Etienne, RB (Clemson)
26) Cleveland Browns: Greg Newsome II, CB (Northwestern)
27) Baltimore Ravens: Rashod Bateman, WR (Minnes0ta)
28) New Orleans Saints: Payton Turner, DE (Houston)
29) Green Bay Packers: Eric Stokes, CB (Georgia)
30) Buffalo Bills: Gregory Rousseau, DL (Miami)
31) Baltimore Ravens (from Chiefs): Jayson Oweh, DE (Penn State)
32) Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Joe Tryon, LB (Washington)

Read more

2021 NFL Draft Results: Team By Team

May 1st, 2021 at 4:49pm CST by Zachary Links

The 2021 NFL Draft has arrived! As the picks come in, we’ll keep track of each team’s haul right here:

[RELATED: 2021 NFL Draft Order By Round]

Arizona Cardinals

Round 1: No. 16 Zaven Collins, LB (Tulsa) (signed)
Round 2: No. 49 Rondale Moore, WR (Purdue) (signed)
Round 4: No. 136 (from Ravens) Marco Wilson, CB (Florida) (signed)
Round 6: No. 210 (from Ravens) Victor Dimukeje, LB (Duke) (signed)
Round 6: No. 223 (from Vikings) Tay Gowan, CB (Central Florida) (signed)
Round 7: No. 243 James Wiggins, S (Cincinnati) (signed)
Round 7: No. 247 (from Bears through Raiders) Michal Menet, C (Penn State) (signed)

Atlanta Falcons

Round 1: No. 4 Kyle Pitts, TE (Florida) (signed)
Round 2: No. 40 (from Broncos) S Richie Grant (Central Florida)
Round 3: No. 68 Jalen Mayfield, OT (Michigan) (signed)
Round 4: No. 108: Darren Hall, CB (SDSU) (signed)
Round 4: No. 114 (from Broncos) Drew Dalman, C (Stanford) (signed)
Round 5: No. 148 Ta’Quon Graham, DT (Texas) (signed)
Round 5: No. 182 Adetokunbo Ogundeji, DE (Notre Dame) (signed)
Round 5: No. 183 Avery Williams, CB (Boise State) (signed)
Round 6: No. 187 Frank Darby, WR (Arizona State) (signed)

Baltimore Ravens

Round 1: No. 27 Rashod Bateman, WR (Minnesota) (signed)
Round 1: No. 31 (from Chiefs) Jayson Oweh, DE (Penn State)
Round 3: No. 94 (from Chiefs) Ben Cleveland, G (Georgia)
Round 3: No. 104 Brandon Stephens, CB (SMU)
Round 4: No. 131 Tylan Wallace, WR (Oklahoma State) (signed)
Round 5: No. 160 (from Cardinals) Shaun Wade, CB (Ohio State) (signed)
Round 5: No. 171 Daelin Hayes, LB (Notre Dame) (signed)
Round 5: No. 184 Ben Mason, FB (Michigan) (signed)

Buffalo Bills

Round 1: No. 30 Gregory Rousseau, DL (Miami) (signed)
Round 2: No. 61 Carlos Basham Jr., DE (Wake Forest) (signed)
Round 3: No. 93 Spencer Brown, OT (Northern Iowa)
Round 5: No. 161 (from Raiders) Tommy Doyle, OT (Miami (Ohio) (signed)
Round 6: No. 203 Marquez Stevenson, WR (Houston) (signed)
Round 6: No. 212 (from Saints via Texans) Damar Hamlin, S (Pittsburgh) (signed)
Round 6: No. 213 Rachad Wildgoose, CB (Wisconsin) (signed)
Round 7: No. 236 (from Panthers) Jack Anderson, G (Texas Tech) (signed)

Carolina Panthers

Round 1: No. 8 Jaycee Horn, CB (South Carolina) (signed)
Round 2: No. 59 (from Browns) Terrace Marshall Jr., WR (LSU)
Round 3: No. 70 (from Eagles) Brady Christensen, OT (BYU) (signed)
Round 3: No. 83 (from Bears) Tommy Tremble, TE (Notre Dame) (signed)
Round 4: No. 113 Chuba Hubbard, RB (Oklahoma State) (signed)
Round 5: No. 158 Daviyon Nixon, DT (Iowa) (signed)
Round 5: No. 166 (from Titans) Keith Taylor, CB (Washington) (signed)
Round 6: No. 204 (from Bears) Shi Smith, WR (South Carolina) (signed)
Round 6: No. 222 Thomas Fletcher, LS (Alabama) (signed)
Round 7: No. 232 (from Titans) Phil Hoskins, DT (Kentucky) (signed)

Read more

Bengals Draft LSU WR Ja’Marr Chase

April 29th, 2021 at 8:04pm CST by Zachary Links

With the No. 5 pick in the NFL Draft, the Bengals selected LSU wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase. The pick reunites Chase with his old college pal Joe Burrow and gives the Bengals one of the brightest offensive talents in this year’s class.

In 2019, Chase set SEC single-season records in receiving yards (1,780) and receiving touchdowns (20). That same Burrow-led offense produced three skill position players that went in the first round of the 2020 draft, including Justin Jefferson. Jefferson, according to many scouts, is an even better prospect.

“I thought Chase was on a different level [than Jefferson],” one scout told The Athletic earlier this year. “Watching what Jefferson did this year (with the Vikings), that just makes me say, ‘Good Lord.’ Honestly, I thought (Chase) was the best receiver in the class last year.”

After capturing the Biletnikoff Award as a sophomore, Chase opted out of the 2020 season. The 6-foot, 208-pounder may have a little rust to shake, but evaluators aren’t too concerned. Based on talent alone, some had Chase slotted as the third-best player in this year’s class, behind only Trevor Lawrence and Kyle Pitts.

Load More Posts