Throughout his career, Jackson Carman has taken part in offseason position battles. The fourth-year Bengals offensive lineman has not succeeded in that regard, and entering training camp he should not be considered a roster lock. 
Carman will need a strong performance this summer to avoid being cut, Jay Morrison of Pro Football Network writes. That comes as little surprise, considering how the 24-year-old’s Cincinnati tenure has gone to date. Carman lost out training camp battles for a starting guard role in each of his first two seasons in the league. He did step in as a temporary Jonah Williams left tackle replacement in 2022, but that was not followed up by a notable role the following season.
Carman was surpassed as Williams’ top competition for the starting right tackle gig last summer. The former second-rounder played just 12 offensive snaps in 2023, failing to secure the swing tackle role or a rotational spot along the interior. The team’s 2024 starting lineup along the O-line appears to be set (Orlando Brown Jr., Cordell Volson, Ted Karras, Alex Cappa and either Trent Brown or Amarius Mims). Carman will compete for a backup interior role, Morrison notes.
The latter has one year remaining on his rookie contract, and he is set to carry a cap hit of $2.37MM in 2024. Cincinnati would save $1.68MM in cap space by cutting him, although doing so could of course result in Carman being brought back via the practice squad if he were to clear waivers. His performance over the coming weeks will be worth watching closely.
Elsewhere on the roster, Morrison notes punter Brad Robbins is in danger of losing his spot atop the depth chart. The 2023 sixth-rounder took on the role as Kevin Huber‘s successor last season, but he underwhelmed in gross (44.3) and net (40.6) average punts. Cincinnati signed Austin McNamara as a UDFA, and he finished 10th in NCAA history in average punt yardage (45.9). Robbins will therefore face a strong challenger as he and Carman look to retain their respective roster spots.
I don’t know of many that really thought that he was a 2nd round prospect
The Bengals seem to strike out a lot on lineman. Billy Price was going to be the center for the next decade. Last year in Arizona he was rated the absolute worst center in the NFL. Carmen and Williams were supposed to anchor the line for the many years, not happening. Where’s the defensive lineman they picked in the first round last year? Hopefully this Sims guy breaks the skid, but he sure did sit out a lot.
For as well as Cincinnati has had success at certain positions, their line picks have been almost universally poor for some time. The Bengals have signed some good starters to man their line in lieu of that, but for some reason, they just don’t seem to have had luck drafting them. Jonah Williams turned out alright, but wasn’t a star, though he faired better than Carman or other linemen drafted recently have (like Price or Jordan). Mims is an athletic freak with huge potential, but he seems like a risky prospect to attempt to break that streak with, given his dearth of experience. If he does break it, though, it seems like there’s a chance that he could break it big.
Oh, Man What Runs With the Football beat me to it…