Bengals Waive Chris Lewis-Harris
- The Bengals have waived cornerback Chris Lewis-Harris, as Jim Owczarski of The Enquirer tweets. Lewis-Harris was in his fifth year with Cincinnati, which signed him as an undrafted free agent from Chattanooga in 2012. The 27-year-old logged 26 appearances with the Bengals, including seven this season. He also racked up his first career interception in a Week 4 win over Miami this year and participated in 31.7 percent of the Bengals’ special teams snaps over their first eight games.
Bengals To Sign Wallace Gilberry
The Bengals have agreed to sign Wallace Gilberry, according to a source who spoke with Jim Owczarski of The Enquirer. The Bengals will have to make a corresponding move to carve out a spot for him on the 53-man roster. 
Gilberry auditioned for the Bengals during their bye week workouts and made a good impression on coaches. Fullback Marcel Reece, defensive tackle Jordan Hill, and tight end Justice Cunningham also showed their stuff for the Bengals on Wednesday.
Gilberry joined the Lions this offseason and was being used as a situational pass rusher. After four games, he was sidelined by an abdominal injury. Detroit subsequently placed him on IR before releasing him on Oct. 11. Before that, the 31-year-old played for the Bengals from 2012-15, starting in 19 games for the team and recording 16.5 of his 35.5 career sacks with Cincinnati.
Bengals Work Out Three Kickers
- A group of kickers including Zach Hocker, Kai Forbath, and Randy Bullock worked out for the Bengals this week, Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com tweets. That’s a noteworthy audition given Mike Nugent‘s struggles. For now, it seems that Cincinnati is just updating its lists should Nugent’s issues continue.
Bengals Work Out Reece, Gilberry, Others
Since hitting the free agent market, Marcel Reece has yet to find a taker to give him a second chance. But several teams have been interested, with the Bengals being the latest after working out the veteran fullback today, Doug Kyed of NESN.com tweets.
The Bengals worked out Reece, along with their former defensive end Wallace Gilberry, defensive tackle Jordan Hill and tight end Justice Cunningham, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Caplan (Twitter links).
Cut by the Raiders on the heels of his PED suspension ending in September, the eighth-year fullback worked out for the Patriots and Jets over the past five weeks but has not played this season. The 31-year-old Reece made the Pro Bowl from 2012-14 and was a consistent outlet option for Derek Carr and previous Raiders passers during his time in Oakland.
Cincinnati does not employ a traditional fullback presently but does house four tight ends.
Gilberry signed a one-year deal with the Lions this offseason but was cut last month. The 31-year-old pass-rusher played for the Bengals from 2012-15, starting in 19 games for the team and recording 16.5 of his 35.5 career sacks with Cincinnati. He’s played in four games this season, starting one.
Patriots Sign TE Matt Lengel
The Patriots have signed tight end Matt Lengel off of the Bengals’ practice squad, as Jim McBride of The Boston Globe tweets. 
Lengal was part of the Bengals’ final round of cuts before they reached a 53-man roster. Soon after, he hooked on with their practice squad for the 2016 season. Now, he has an opportunity to see some NFL action with the Patriots.
Lengel, an Eastern Kentucky product, can give the Patriots a big receiving target at 6’7″. He went undrafted in 2015, an expected outcome after tearing the same ACL in both 2012 and 2013. Lengel will slot behind Rob Gronkowski and Martellus Bennett on the Patriots’ depth chart. Barring injury, we probably won’t see much of him on the field.
The Patriots are on their bye week. Lengel will have extra time to learn the playbook between now and their next game on Nov. 13 against the Seahawks.
Taylor Mays Out Of Treatment Facility
Free agent safety Taylor Mays has spent the last several weeks in a treatment facility and is now finally healthy, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Mays comes off of suspension on Monday and several teams are showing interest in the former Bengal (Twitter link). 
Mays was flagged for two substance abuse policy violations this year and his second suspension is about to wrap up. Rapoport notes that the Bengals kept an open mind on Mays and says that they “may have interest” when his suspension is up. It’s not clear if Rapoport has direct knowledge of the Bengals’ interest level or if that is just informed speculation.
This year, the Bengals were counting on Mays to help support starters George Iloka and Shawn Williams at safety. The Bengals already knew that they would be without the 28-year-old for the first four games of the 2016 season, but they decided to cut bait when they learned that his ban had doubled. In less than a week, we should know whether Cincinnati is willing to go down that road again.
Hue Jackson Could Have Succeeded Marvin Lewis In Cincinnati
Hue Jackson has his work cut out for him as the head coach of the Browns, but he had the opportunity to succeed Marvin Lewis as the Bengals‘ head coach if he so chose. As Mary Kay Cabot of the Cleveland Plain Dealer writes, “Jackson confirmed this week that he passed up an opportunity to succeed [Lewis] in Cincinnati, taking the Browns job instead.” Of course, even if Lewis wanted to hand the baton to Jackson at some point down the line, it would have been difficult for Jackson to turn down a head coaching job elsewhere, as there is no guarantee that Cincinnati ownership would have gone along with Lewis’ plan, or that Lewis would have even been around to pass the torch.
Bengals Have No Timetable On Tyler Eifert
- Bengals coach Marvin Lewis says that the team will soon determine whether tight end Tyler Eifert will be make his 2016 debut on Sunday, as Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com writes. Lewis doesn’t have a timetable on Eifert, but he says that it will not be a game-time decision. Eifert, of course, was scheduled to return from ankle surgery earlier this month but suffered a setback when he hurt his back.
Tyler Eifert Nearing Return
- Bengals tight end Tyler Eifert returned to practice Wednesday for the first time since suffering a back injury Oct. 3, according to Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Thanks to both his back issue and offseason ankle surgery, the 2015 Pro Bowler hasn’t yet debuted this year. That could change Sunday against the Browns, per Dehner, who notes that Eifert was merely a limited participant Wednesday and will need to partake in a full practice before rejoining the Bengals’ lineup. The Bengals have gone a disappointing 2-4 this year without Eifert, who’s coming off an outstanding season. With 52 receptions, 615 yards and 13 touchdowns, the ex-Notre Dame star logged career highs across the board last year.
Bengals’ Eifert Won’t Make Debut On Sunday
We’ll have to wait a little longer to see Tyler Eifert make his on-field debut in 2016. The Bengals officially ruled out the tight end for Sunday’s contest against the Cowboys. 
Eifert missed the Bengals’ first four games of the season because of an ankle injury, and just as he was set to return this Sunday, a back problem came to the fore Wednesday to put his status in question. Various injuries have limited Eifert to just 28 of the Bengals’ 52 regular-season games since they drafted him 21st overall in 2013. The ex-Notre Dame star broke out last season with 52 catches and 13 touchdowns and the team was hoping to see more of the same from him this year.
Through four games, the Bengals are 2-2 with wins over the Jets and Dolphins and losses to the Steelers and Broncos. The Bengals will hope to get their best tight end back for Sunday Oct. 23 against the Browns, but nothing is guaranteed with Eifert at this point.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.