Bengals Trim Roster To 53
The Bengals announced their final 53-man roster. One of the moves will be, as expected, placing Darqueze Dennard on their reserve/PUP list. Dennard now must miss at least the first six games of the season. This comes after the Bengals re-signed their former first-round pick on a one-year, $5MM deal. The team knew Dennard needed a post-signing knee surgery, but the arthroscopic procedure was performed several months ago.
Cincinnati is also placing Jonah Williams on its PUP list instead of season-ending IR. While the first-round tackle was believed to be set to miss the season, this move is a way of retaining a chance he can recover. Williams would revert to IR if he cannot recover from the shoulder injury he sustained this offseason.
Here’s the full list of the Bengals’ moves to meet the 53-man limit:
Placed on Reserve/Injured list:
- RB Rodney Anderson (rookie, Oklahoma; knee injury)
- QB Jeff Driskel (fourth-year player, Louisiana Tech; hamstring injury)
Placed on the Reserve/PUP list:
- CB Darqueze Dennard (sixth-year player, Michigan State; knee injury)
- OT Jonah Williams (rookie, Alabama; shoulder injury)
Released:
- G John Jerry (ninth-year player, Mississippi)
Waived:
- TE Moritz Böhringer (first-year player, Aalen [Germany])
- CB Jordan Brown (rookie, South Dakota State)
- WR Ventell Bryant (rookie, Temple)
- CB Anthony Chesley (rookie, Coastal Carolina)
- WR Cody Core (fourth-year player, Mississippi)
- LB Deshaun Davis (rookie, Auburn)
- LB Noah Dawkins (rookie, The Citadel)
- HB Jordan Ellis (rookie, Virginia)
- OT Justin Evans (first-year player, South Carolina State)
- HB Quinton Flowers (first-year player, South Florida)
- TE Jordan Franks (second-year player, Central Florida)
- CB Davontae Harris (second-year player, Illinois State)
- S Trayvon Henderson (second-year player, Hawaii)
- LB Malik Jefferson (second-year player, Texas)
- S Tyree Kinnel (rookie, Michigan)
- C Brad Lundblade (first-year player, Oklahoma State)
- WR Stanley Morgan (rookie, Nebraska)
- CB KeiVarae Russell (fourth-year player, Notre Dame)
- TE Mason Schreck (third-year player, Buffalo)
- WR Hunter Sharp (first-year player, Utah State; injury settlement)
- G Keaton Sutherland (rookie, Texas A&M)
Suspended:
- G Alex Redmond (third-year player, UCLA, suspended for four games)
All of the waived players, except for Core, will be practice squad eligible if they clear waivers.
Minor NFL Transactions: 12/18/18
Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
- Promoted from practice squad: CB Chris Jones, CB Deatrick Nichols
- Waived: CB Dontae Johnson, CB Quinten Rollins
Atlanta Falcons
- Promoted from practice squad: RB Jeremy Langford
Buffalo Bills
- Signed off 49ers’ practice squad: WR Victor Bolden
- Placed on IR: RB Marcus Murphy
Cincinnati Bengals
- Promoted from practice squad: LB Chris Worley
- Placed on IR: LB Malik Jefferson
Detroit Lions
- Promoted from practice squad: DT John Atkins
- Placed on IR: DL Da’Shawn Hand
Green Bay Packers
- Signed off Jaguars’ practice squad: WR Allen Lazard
Miami Dolphins
- Signed off Panthers’ practice squad: DT Kendrick Norton
New York Giants
- Placed on IR: CB Antonio Hamilton
New York Jets
- Signed off Patriots’ practice squad: T Eric Smith
Oakland Raiders
- Promoted from practice squad: DB Rico Gafford, DT Gabe Wright
- Waived: LB Emmanuel Lamur
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: DB Tyvis Powell
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed off Jaguars’ practice squad: RB Bo Scarbrough
- Placed on IR: G Jordan Simmons
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Promoted from practice squad: TE Donnie Ernsberger, DL Jeremiah Ledbetter
- Placed on IR: TE Alan Cross, S Justin Evans
Washington Redskins
- Signed: DB Harlan Miller
- Placed on IR: CB Joshua Holsey
Bengals Sign Rookie Malik Jefferson
Linebacker Malik Jefferson has signed his rookie deal with the Bengals, according to a tweet from his agency. Jefferson, the No. 78 overall pick in the draft, will earn $3.83MM over the course of his four-year deal.
Jefferson opted to leave Texas after his junior season and was probably expecting to go late in the first round or somewhere in the second round. He ignored the College Advisory Committee’s recommendation that he stay in school and wound up as a third-round pick. For what it’s worth, he claims he does not regret the decision.
“It’s not really good feedback,” Jefferson said. “If a guy wants to come out early, they have to make a decision on their own. Really, if you’re not like a top-10 guy coming out early, it’s just up in the air from there. You just don’t know. Anything can happen…So you can be making money for the university, struggling, trying to eat dining hall food, waking up early, having to go through extreme pressures and not getting paid for none of that. Or you can not go to school, just play football all day, study film and get better and work out all day and max yourself out.”
Instead of continuing his education without being compensated for playing, Jefferson will now back up Nick Vigil and Vontaze Burfict. After racking up 233 tackles, 25.5 tackles for loss, and six pass breakups over the course of his collegiate career, Jefferson feels like he’s prepared to play at the pro level.
Jefferson’s signing leaves Ohio State defensive end Sam Hubbard as the Bengals’ only unsigned draft pick. Hubbard went No. 77 overall, one pick before Jefferson.
AFC Notes: Bengals, Jefferson, Colts
The College Advisory Committee told Malik Jefferson to stay in school for another year. After becoming a third-round pick of the Bengals, Jefferson is glad that he didn’t listen.
“It’s not really good feedback,” Jefferson said, via Max Olson of The Athletic. “If a guy wants to come out early, they have to make a decision on their own. Really, if you’re not like a top-10 guy coming out early, it’s just up in the air from there. You just don’t know. Anything can happen.”
Instead of continuing his education without being compensated for playing, Jefferson will now back up Nick Vigil and Vontaze Burfict with a contract worth $3.4MM over four years.
“You say stay in school, but a kid wants to better himself and his future,” Jefferson said. “So you can be making money for the university, struggling, trying to eat dining hall food, waking up early, having to go through extreme pressures and not getting paid for none of that. Or you can not go to school, just play football all day, study film and get better and work out all day and max yourself out.”
Jefferson may be happy with his choice, but in defense of the CAC, the Texas product probably anticipated going late in the first round or somewhere in the second when he declared for the draft.
Here’s more from the AFC:
- The Colts met with safeties Tre Boston and Kenny Vaccaro on Monday, but Stephen Holder of the Indy Star (on Twitter) hears that nothing is imminent with either player at this time. Boston and Vaccaro both offer significant starting experience, but the free agent market has been painfully slow to develop for them and other safeties this year.
- Jets linebacker Kevin Pierre-Louis struck an agreement with Kansas prosecutors to have his drug-possession charge dropped if he completes one year of probation, as Rich Cimini of ESPN.com writes. While with the Chiefs in January, Pierre-Louis was charged with several misdemeanors, including marijuana possession and possession of drug paraphernalia. The Jets signed him to a two-year, $5.25MM deal this offseason.
- The Bills are taking a look at former Cowboys and Bucs defensive end Ryan Russell.
Texas LB Malik Jefferson To Enter Draft
A steady run of Texas Longhorns have declared for the 2018 draft, and linebacker Malik Jefferson will be the latest.
The junior linebacker will forgo his senior season in Austin to place his name in the 2018 prospect pool, he announced via The Players’ Tribune (Twitter link). Jefferson is viewed as a late-first-round-level talent by some mock drafts at this stage of the process.
Jefferson will join first-round tackle prospect Connor Williams, along with safety DeShon Elliott, cornerback Holton Hill and punter Michael Dickson among Longhorns who will leave school early.
A former five-star recruit, Jefferson earned Big 12 co-defensive player of the year acclaim after a season that included 110 tackles and four sacks. Although 2017 represented by far Jefferson’s best season, he finished his three-year career with 13.5 sacks and 26 tackles for loss.