Cam Taylor-Britt

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/8/22

Here are the roster moves for today, leading into gameday tomorrow. Reminder that gameday elevations will revert to the practice squad after this weekend’s games:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Commanders

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/5/22

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

A number of players who were placed on IR after the preseason and prior to the regular season returned to practice today. These players will have a three-week practice window until they have to be activated to the active roster. Otherwise, they’ll be ineligible to return this season.

One of the most surprising returns is Cardinals cornerback Antonio Hamilton. The former undrafted free agent rode a strong preseason to a potential starting gig, but he was sidelined with second-degree burns after spilling hot oil on his legs and feet. Kliff Kingsbury previously said an early-October return may be a “little aggressive” (per ESPN’s Josh Weinfuss on Twitter), but the cornerback ended up working his way back to practice.

Wednesday NFL Transactions: AFC North

Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline Tuesday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters. In addition to waiver claims, teams can begin constructing their 16-man practice squads today. These BengalsBrowns, Ravens and Steelers moves are noted below.

Here are Wednesday’s AFC North transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day.

Baltimore Ravens

Signed:

Claimed:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

Signed to practice squad:

Cincinnati Bengals

Claimed:

Released:

Waived:

Placed on IR:

Signed to practice squad:

Cleveland Browns

Claimed: 

Released:

Signed to practice squad:

Pittsburgh Steelers

Bengals’ Roster Down To Final 53

Cincinnati made the necessary moves today to trim its roster down to 53 players. While some may find themselves back in the striped helmet Wednesday, many will have to clear waivers before being announced to the 16-man practice squad. Here are the moves made today to get down to the 53-man roster:

Released:

Waived:

Waived/injured:

Placed on reserve/PUP list:

The defending AFC champions are looking to run it back with much of the same roster as last year. Thirty-eight of this year’s 53-man roster were on last year’s Super Bowl roster, with the differences coming on offensive line and at the bottom of the depth chart.

Additionally, it appears all six 2022 draft picks made the roster for the Bengals, as well as one undrafted rookie signing. With so many starters returning from the Super Bowl team, all the rookies will be expected to contribute in backup roles. First- and second-round defensive backs Daxton Hill and Cam Taylor-Britt figure to factor heavily into the defensive rotation, though. Also in the secondary, cornerback Allan George is the lone UDFA from this year’s crop to make Cincinnati’s final roster.

To call it the final roster is a bit misleading as the Bengals will likely follow their own trends from last season, setting the roster up for multiple post-deadline moves. The roster currently includes 11 defensive backs, not including starting safety Jessie Bates, working currently on a roster exemption. Taylor-Britt could likely find his way to the four-week injured reserve list after undergoing core surgery recently. Defensive end Khalid Kareem will join Taylor-Britt on short-term IR, according to head coach Zac Taylor, with a hamstring injury.

Many expect Cincinnati to mirror a roster move from last year with wide receiver Thomas. Thomas is a vested veteran who will avoid the waiver wire and is expected to re-sign with the team after a corresponding roster move, exactly what he did last year.

Finally, two position battles have been effectively decided with the waiving of long snapper Adomitis and punter Chrisman. Both intended to challenge incumbents Clark Harris and Kevin Huber from their long-time starting jobs. After avoiding being unseated, Huber is now on track to set a franchise record for games played in a Bengals uniform. Harris is close behind, trailing Huber by just six games.

Bengals CB Cam Taylor-Britt Undergoes Surgery

The Bengals retained their secondary starters from their AFC championship season but added pieces with both their first- and second-round picks. The second of those choices will miss some time.

Cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt underwent core surgery Monday, Zac Taylor said (via ESPN.com’s Ben Baby, on Twitter). The second-rounder has been out for more than a week and will miss at least the rest of the team’s preseason practices.

This essentially locks Eli Apple into a starting job, Jay Morrison of The Athletic notes (subscription required). Taylor-Britt making a later bid at taking over with Cincinnati’s first-stringers cannot be ruled out, but to begin the season, it will be Apple back as a full-timer alongside Chidobe Awuzie and Mike Hilton.

Apple re-signed with the Bengals on a one-year deal worth $3.5MM, though that pact came with only $1MM guaranteed at signing. Pro Football Focus rated the former top-10 pick as a midlevel corner during the regular season, one that saw him keep Trae Waynes out of the team’s defensive picture for the stretch run. The Bengals cut Waynes this offseason. Although the Rams picked on Apple at key points during Super Bowl LVI, he started 15 games to bounce back after a lost 2020 season — a two-game Panthers slate.

Cincinnati drafted safety Daxton Hill in the first round; the Michigan product is seeing more time due to Jessie Bates‘ absence. The Bengals should be expected to have their franchise-tagged safety, whom they are unlikely to trade, back by Week 1. The team traded up three spots for Taylor-Britt in Round 2, moving to No. 60 for the Nebraska defender. With Apple’s deal expiring after the 2022 season, it would seem there is a clear path for the Big Ten product to move into the Bengals’ starting lineup long-term. That ascent is on hold for the time being.

AFC North Rumors: Trubisky, Apple, Pratt, Johnson

With Lamar Jackson, Joe Burrow, and Deshaun Watson (tentatively) being cemented behind center in Baltimore, Cincinnati, and Cleveland, respectively, Pittsburgh is working to name their starting quarterback to open the 2022 NFL season. According to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the current situation points towards free agent acquisition Mitchell Trubisky being named the starter for the Steelers’ season opener in Cincinnati.

On 105.7 The Fan, Dulac was quoted saying, “I think the plan is, and I don’t think there is any question about this, unless something would dictate otherwise including injury, I think Mitch Trubisky will go into the regular season as the starter.” He continued, “NFL teams don’t draft quarterbacks No. 1 to have them be the third quarterback and a gameday scratch. I expect Kenny Pickett to be the guy who dresses on gameday (as the primary backup).”

When asked where that leaves five-year veteran Mason Rudolph, Dulac thinks the Steelers will have “a little bit more respect than to keep him around as the third quarterback and a gameday scratch.” Dulac believes Pittsburgh would rather have the two parties mutually move on and try to find him a trade to a desirable location.

Here are a few other rumors from around the AFC North, starting with a couple rumors from the division (and conference) champions from last year:

  • When detailing some training camp position battles in Cincinnati this summer, Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic asserted that six-year veteran cornerback Eli Apple will be favored to keep his starting job over rookie second-round pick Cam Taylor-Britt. After the rollercoaster start of his career, Apple played well last year for the Bengals. Despite the team spending heavy draft-capital on his position by drafting Taylor-Britt early, Apple has reportedly responded very well to the pressure and kept his eye on the ball. Taylor-Britt may eventually unseat the incumbent, but, for now, expect to see Apple across from Diontae Johnson or Chase Claypool to open the season this September.
  • Expanding further on the Bengals’ offseason to-do list, Dehner Jr. reported on some possible extension candidates in Cincinnati, claiming that, for now, the Bengals don’t view linebacker Germaine Pratt as an extension candidate. Since Cincinnati selected him in the third-round of 2019, Pratt has been a formidable defender, racking up 76 tackles as a rookie as well as 89 and 91 tackles in the two seasons since. Despite his defensive tenacity, it doesn’t appear that Pratt does quite enough to force an early decision from the Bengals on his future. Instead, Pratt will want to put together a contract year that will either convince Cincinnati to keep him around or convince another franchise to spend big to bring him in. The Bengals will allow him to play out the last year of his rookie deal and assess his value before free agency.
  • Despite the recent one-year deal running back D’Ernest Johnson signed earlier this month to remain in Cleveland, ESPN’s Jake Trotter believes that Johnson could still potentially find himself as the odd man out of a loaded running back room for the Browns. With Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt cemented as 1-2 at running back, Johnson is competing with 2021 draft pick Demetric Felton and 2022 Draft pick Jerome Ford for playing time behind them. Since both Felton and Ford offer versatility to rush and receive out of the backfield, along with cheap rookie deals, it’s not out of the question to imagine Johnson on the outside looking in. In this case, the Browns may want to find a trade-partner to take Johnson and make sure they don’t completely waste the deal they awarded him weeks ago.

Bengals Sign Second-Rounder Cam Taylor-Britt

Not long after inking their top draft pick to his first NFL contract, the Bengals have done the same with another rookie defensive back. The team announced on Friday that they have signed second round corner Cam Taylor-Britt

[RELATED: Bengals Sign First Round S Hill]

Across four seasons at Nebraska, the six-foot, 205-pounder grew into a key role on the team’s defense. His sophomore campaign included 49 tackles, a pair of interceptions and four forced fumbles. He matched his interception total the following year, despite that season being limited to eight games.

Coming back for his senior season, Taylor-Britt was once again a consistent presence on the Cornhuskers’ back end. In 12 contests, he racked up 51 tackles, including three for a loss, one interception and a career-high 11 pass breakups – a figure which ranked him second in the Big Ten in that category. With a combination of experience and ball production, he projects to have a high floor at the NFL level.

In Cincinnati, Taylor-Britt will join a CB room led by Chidobe Awuzie, Mike Hilton and Eli Apple. Along with first-rounder Daxton Hill, he will provide depth right away in the team’s secondary, with the potential to earn playing time with the defending AFC champions down the road.

The Bengals also announced the signing of seventh-round defensive end Jeffrey Gunterleaving them with just two members of their draft class left to sign:

Round 1: No. 31 Daxton Hill, S (Michigan) (signed)
Round 2: No. 60 (from Buccaneers through Bills) Cam Taylor-Britt, CB (Nebraska) (signed)
Round 3: No. 95 Zachary Carter, DL (Florida)
Round 4: No. 136 Cordell Volson, OL (North Dakota State)
Round 5: No. 166 (from Cardinals through Eagles, Texans and Bears): Tycen Anderson, S (Toledo) (signed)
Round 7: No. 252 Jeffrey Gunter, DE (Coastal Carolina) (signed)

Bengals Trade Up To Take Cam Taylor-Britt At No. 60

The Bengals addressed another secondary position in the 2022 NFL Draft, trading up to take the Bills spot at No. 60 overall, a pick the Bills had just received from the Buccaneers one trade earlier. Cincinnati used the pick to select Nebraska cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt

Taylor-Britt led the Cornhuskers in passes broken up last year with an impressive 11, adding six interceptions over the course of his college career. Taylor-Britt was a physical defender forcing seven fumbles and blocking a kick in his career. He earned second team All-Big Ten honors in each of his final two college seasons.

The Bengals gave up their 63rd (2nd round pick) and 209th (6th round) pick in order to move up to 60th for Taylor-Britt.