The Bengals have worked their way down to the 53-man roster limit. Here are the moves made on Tuesday to finalize their initial squad:
Released:
- TE Tanner Hudson
- CB Sidney Jones
- WR Stanley Morgan
- QB Trevor Siemian
- WR Trent Taylor
- S Michael Thomas
Waived:
- OT Hakeem Adeniji
- TE Devin Asiasi
- TE Nick Bowers
- S Larry Brooks
- G Ben Brown
- DE Owen Carney
- WR Malachi Carter
- P Drue Chrisman
- S Yusuf Corker
- DT Domenique Davis
- CB Allan George
- C Nate Gilliam
- DE Jeff Gunter
- LB Shaka Heyward
- WR Mac Hippenhammer
- WR Shedrick Jackson
- DE Raymond Johnson III
- LB Keandre Jones
- G Jaxson Kirkland
- WR Kwamie Lassiter II
- LB Jaylen Moody
- LB Tyler Murray
- HB Jacob Saylors
- QB Reid Sinnett
- TE Christian Trahan
- RB Calvin Tyler Jr.
Placed on reserve/PUP list:
Placed on IR:
- DT Tautala Pesefea Jr.
- CB Marvell Tell III
Collins will miss at least the first four weeks of the season given his PUP designation. The former Cowboy signed a three-year, $21MM deal in free agency last offseason to operate as Cincinnati’s right tackle starter. His play in his debut season was underwhelming, however, and that role will belong to Jonah Williams this season, unless the latter misses time or Collins usurps him on the depth chart. A knee injury is to blame for Collins’ missed time, per the team.
Both Pesefea and Tell will miss the entire season, as is the case for all players placed on IR before being named to the initial 53-man roster. They will either remain with the organization during the campaign, or be released via an injury settlement which would allow them to find a new opportunity elsewhere.
Jones represents a more experienced cut than most of the other players let go. The former second-rounder has 57 games and 27 starts to his name, and he split his time between the Seahawks and Raiders last season. Moving on from Jones further signals the team’s intention of relying on younger options like Cam Taylor-Britt and rookies DJ Turner and DJ Ivey in the secondary.
Losing Adeniji (unless he clears waivers and is retained via the practice squad, as will no doubt be the case for many of the players listed above) would leave the Bengals thin along the O-line, especially in light of the Collins news. The 2020 sixth-rounder has experience at multiple positions up front, but his level of play has been a contributing factor in the team’s urgency in pursuing free agent blockers in recent years.