Bengals Trim Roster To 53
For the time being at least, Michael Johnson will not be part of the Bengals’ 53-man roster. The longtime starting defensive end does not appear among Cincinnati’s regular-season contingent, signalling a changing of the guard opposite Carlos Dunlap.
While Johnson could well return, with Cincinnati.com’s Paul Dehner Jr. tweeting this is a possibility because of the team trying to protect as many young players from the waiver wire as possible, he’s again off the roster. Johnson spent a year with the Buccaneers in 2014 but returned to Cincinnati a year later.
He’s been a Bengals starter in five of the past six seasons, but third-round selections of Jordan Willis and Carl Lawson last year — along with 2018 third-rounder Sam Hubbard — made the 31-year-old talent a less important commodity. Johnson registered five sacks last season and has 44 in his career.
As for the rest of the Bengals’ cuts, here are the other players who aren’t on the 53-man roster.
Released as vested veterans:
- TE Ryan Hewitt
- C T.J. Johnson
Waived:
- LB Brandon Bell
- DB Tyrice Beverette
- TE Moritz Bohringer
- WR Devonte Boyd
- DT Andrew Brown
- K Jonathan Brown
- RB Quinton Flowers
- TE Jordan Franks
- CB C.J. Goodwin
- RB Brian Hill
- LB Junior Joseph
- C Brad Lundblade
- WR Jared Murphy
- T Justin Murray
- T Kent Perkins
- DT Simeyon Robinson
- WR Kayaune Ross
- CB KeiVarae Russell
- WR Ka’Raun White
- WR Kermit Whitfield
- DT Eddy Wilson
- QB Logan Woodside
- LB Chris Worley
Placed on IR:
The placement of Barkley on IR and the waiving of Woodside leaves Jeff Driskel as the Bengals’ only Andy Dalton backup. It would be logical if the Bengals examined the waiver wire this weekend for a possible signal-caller addition.
Matt Barkley Has MCL Sprain
Matt Barkley suffered a Grade 3 MCL sprain in Thursday night’s preseason game, which could end the veteran quarterback’s chance to serve as the Bengals‘ No. 2 signal-caller, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link). Barkley, whom Cincinnati inked to a two-year deal during the offseason, will likely be placed on injured reserve, although he could return later in the season. Given his lackluster play during the exhibition season, Barkley was likely going to lose out to Jeff Driskel in the Bengals’ backup quarterback battle even before injury luck intervened.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/30/18
Today’s minor moves:
Cincinnati Bengals
- Waived: CB Darius Hillary
Seattle Seahawks
- Waived: LB Jason Hall
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Waived from injured reserve: RB Charles Sims
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/29/18
We don’t dance now, we make minor moves:
Cincinnati Bengals
- Waived: G Cory Helms
Detroit Lions
- Waived: OL Beau Nunn
- Waived/Injured: DT Toby Johnson
Houston Texans
- Waived/Injured: Ben Heeney
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: WR Tanner McEvoy
San Francisco 49ers
- Waived/Injured: WR Max McCaffrey
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/28/18
We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:
Arizona Cardinals
- Signed: RB Darius Victor
Buffalo Bills
- Released: S L.J. McCray
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: CB Darius Hillary
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: OL Kyle Bosch, OL Matthew Diaz
- Waived: WR Ricky Jeune, OL Dustin Stanton
Houston Texans
- Released: WR Chris Thompson
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Released from IR: S Don Carey
Los Angeles Chargers
- Claimed off waivers (Texans): DT Marcus Hardison
- Waived/injured: OL Zachary Crabtree
Los Angeles Rams
- Signed: RB Larry Rose
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: TE Anthony Denham
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: RB Ja’Quan Gardner
- Waived: S Chanceller James
Tennessee Titans
- Waived: LB Deontae Skinner
Bengals Sign Carlos Dunlap To Extension
The Bengals have signed defensive end Carlos Dunlap to a three-year, $45MM extension, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. The new deal will keep him in place through the 2021 season. 
Word of Dunlap’s deal broke just moments after the Bengals reached agreement on a four-year deal with defensive tackle Geno Atkins. In one fell swoop, the Bengals have locked down two pillars of their defensive line.
Dunlap was set to enter the final year of the six-year, $40MM extension he signed in 2013. The 29-year-old will earn a base salary of $7MM (well below his true value) before starting the new deal.
Dunlap, 29, has been tremendous in Cincinnati, particularly in the second half of games. The advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus have routinely rated him as a top-30 edge defender over the past seven seasons and he has been equally strong against the pass and the run.
Earlier this offseason, we estimated that Dunlap would have to play out the 2018 season at a high level in order to secure a $15MM/year deal. Instead, Dunlap has landed that deal without risking injury or regression, so his camp did quite well in these negotiations.
With Dunlap and Atkins squared away, the Bengals can shift their focus to other extension candidates such as cornerback Darqueze Dennard. The Bengals also have a trio of tight ends to consider in Tyler Kroft, Tyler Eifert, and C.J. Uzomah, and they may want to leave some money in the coffers to re-sign defensive end Michael Johnson after the 2018 season.
Bengals Sign DT Geno Atkins To Extension
The Bengals have signed defensive tackle Geno Atkins to a four-year extension, according to his agency. The new pact is worth $65.3M, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).
The 30-year-old is among the best players on the Bengals’ defense, so the deal was a high priority for the front office. The club’s recent release of safety George Iloka likely freed up the room necessary to make the deal happen.
Atkins will receive $25.5MM in the first year of the new deal and more than half of the contract ($37.5MM) will be paid in the first two years. His $16.3MM yearly average is highest yearly average ever obtained by a 30+ year old non-quarterback in NFL history.
The defensive tackle inked a five-year, $53.3MM extension with the Bengals back in 2013, which meant that his deal was set to expire after the 2018 season. That contract proved to be a winner for both sides. For the Bengals, the deal allowed them to keep a top performer under contract at roughly $10.6MM per year while the market advanced at a sharp rate. Atkins, meanwhile, made more cash than he could ever hope to spend. And, since he’s still in the prime of his career, he was able to do it all again.
Atkins finished out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 2 ranked interior defender last year, putting him behind only Aaron Donald of the Rams. Like Donald, Atkins is a stout run defender with the ability to also disrupt opposing quarterbacks from the interior. Atkins has notched at least nine sacks in each of the last three seasons, and, save for the 2013 season cut short by an ACL tear, he has never missed a game. Donald is still three years younger and in a class of his own, but Atkins has been far more dominant than many outside of Cincinnati realize.
Bengals Release DT Chris Baker
The Bengals have released veteran defensive tackle Chris Baker, the club announced today.
Cincinnati inked Baker to a one-year, $2.45MM deal in March in the hopes that he’d become its starting nose tackle opposite All-Pro three-technique Geno Atkins. Not only has Baker struggled during the preseason, often getting defeated in both the run and pass game, but he’s been severely outplayed by third-year pro Andrew Billings, who will now play alongside Atkins on the Bengals’ defensive line.
Baker, 30, spent the 2017 campaign with the Buccaneers after signing a three-year pact last March. Although he’d played like of the league’s better interior defenders from 2015-16, Baker struggled in 2017, grading as just the No. 96 defensive tackle among 122 qualifiers, per Pro Football Focus, and was subsequently released after only a single season in Tampa Bay.
Baker will now join a list of free agent interior defenders that’s still rather deep, as options such as Johnathan Hankins, Courtney Upshaw, Jared Crick, and Tony McDaniel still reside on the open market. With just a few weeks until the 2018 regular season begins, Baker could struggle to find a job immediately (especially given that he’s been cut twice in the span of six months), and may need to wait for an injury to open up a job.
The Bengals will trot out Atkins and Billings as their starting defensive tackles, while 2017 fourth-round pick Ryan Glasgow will now become the clear third man on the depth chart. Baker’s release opens up a roster spot for rookie fifth-round selection Andrew Brown, who’d been on the roster bubble in recent weeks.
Baker collected a $300K signing bonus when he signed with Cincinnati, and he’s also picked up $150K in workout bonuses. That $450K will become dead money on the Bengals’ salary cap, but they’ll clear $1.5MM in base salary and $500K in per-game roster bonuses by cutting ties with Baker.
Baker becomes the second veteran player — and one-time projected starter — released by the Bengals this week, as Cincinnati cut safety George Iloka on Sunday.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/23/18
Today’s minor moves:
Buffalo Bills
- Released: DT Tenny Palepoi
Cincinnati Bengals
- Waived/Injured: CB Sojourn Shelton
Detroit Lions
- Waived: DL JoJo Wicker
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: DT Brandon Banks
- Waived/Injured: WR Matt Hazel
Why The Bengals Cut George Iloka
The Bengals surprised many with their release of safety George Iloka, but it has been in discussion ever since the drafting of Jessie Bates III in the second round, according to Kat Terrell of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Despite Iloka’s past performance, the Bengals are ready to move ahead with the rookie and give him the playing time he needs to develop. The Bengals were also wary of using a roster spot on a veteran who doesn’t fit on special teams.
Iloka wasn’t a fit for the 2018 Bengals, but there are plenty of other teams who are interested in his services. He’s already on the radar of the Raiders and Cowboys, and it stands to reason that other teams will get on the horn with him in the coming days.