Noah Dawkins

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:

Placed on the Reserve/PUP list:

  • CB Darqueze Dennard (sixth-year player, Michigan State; knee injury)
  • OT Jonah Williams (rookie, Alabama; shoulder injury)

Released:

Waived:

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.

Bengals Waive LB Brandon Bell

Brandon Bell‘s tenure with the Bengals has come to an end. ESPN’s Katherine Terrell reports (via Twitter) that the organization has waived the linebacker. Cincy also cut wideout Charles Holland, and they’ve added a trio of undrafted tryout players: wideout Ventell Bryant (Temple), linebacker Noah Dawkins (The Citadel), and linebacker Sterling Sheffield (Maine).

Bell joined the Bengals as an undrafted free agent out of Penn State back in 2017, and he proceeded to appear in nine games for Cincy over his two years with the organization. He appeared in a career-high six games this past season, compiling four tackles. The 24-year-old was waived last offseason before landing on the team’s practice squad, so there could still be some hope that Bell will rejoin the organization.

Holland was one of three undrafted wideouts to join the Bengals earlier this week. The Tiffin product had another productive season in 2018, hauling in 77 receptions for 976 yards and 10 touchdowns.

Bryant will seemingly be taking Holland’s spot on the roster. The Temple product had another standout season in 2018, compiling 51 receptions for 690 yards and three scores. Meanwhile, the Bengals brought in a pair of linebackers to replace Bell. Dawkins set a school record with 23 sacks in 2018, while Sheffield completed his senior season with 8.5 sacks.