Allan George

Bengals Begin Roster Cutdowns

Teams have until August 27 to bring their rosters down to 53. One day after their final preseason contest, the Bengals have begun the process of releasing players, with 11 being let go on Friday.

Here is the full list of cuts:

Carman’s inclusion on the list does not come as a surprise. The 2021 second-rounder has not lived up to expectations so far, and he found himself on the roster bubble at the onset of training camp. During each of his first two seasons in the league, Carman lost a competition for a starting spot and was unable to earn the swing tackle role in 2023. Despite having one year left on his rookie contract, the Bengals will move on.

Butler, 28, entered the NFL in 2019, but his only regular season game action to date came one year later. The 6-5, 227-pounder was unable to find a regular role at the NFL level as a receiver or a tight end, but he had a successful spell in the UFL this spring. Butler was the league’s Offensive Player of the Year, fueling an attempt at returning to the NFL. That effort has obviously taken a hit with today’s move.

None of the players who have been let go are vested veterans. As a result, they will be subject to waivers several days before many other teams’ roster cuts go through the same process. Interested parties will be able to make a claim (knowing their own cut decisions are looming), but all players who clear will become free agents. That would leave the door open to a practice squad deal with Cincinnati or any other team once initial 53-man rosters are set.

NFL Reserve/Futures Deals: 1/8/24

Many teams have started signing players to reserve/futures contracts, allowing organization to retain (routinely) young, practice squad players. Here are the latest reserve/futures contracts:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

  • OL Barry Wesley

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Denver Broncos

Indianapolis Colts

Las Vegas Raiders

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

  • LB Brandon Bouyer-Randle, WR Davion Davis, CB D’Angelo Mandell

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 BengalsBrownsRavens and Steelers moves are noted below.

Cincinnati Bengals

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Baltimore Ravens

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Cleveland Browns

Claimed:

Placed on IR:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Pittsburgh Steelers

Released:

Claimed:

Waived:

Signed to practice squad:

Bengals Reduce Roster To 53, Place T La’el Collins On Reserve/PUP List

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:

Waived:

Placed on reserve/PUP list:

Placed on IR:

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.

Minor NFL Transactions: 1/2/23

Here are Monday’s minor moves:

Buffalo Bills 

Cincinnati Bengals

  • Signed from practice squad: CB Allan George
  • Promoted: QB Jake Browning

Tennessee Titans

Minor NFL Transactions: 12/23/22

Today’s minor moves heading into the NFL’s largest slate of Saturday games of the season:

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Kansas City Chiefs

Minnesota Vikings

  • Promoted from practice squad: G Kyle Hinton

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/5/22

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Arizona Cardinals

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Detroit Lions

Indianapolis Colts

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

  • Promoted: OT Kion Smith

Minnesota Vikings

New York Jets

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Commanders

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/6/22

Here are today’s practice squad moves from around the NFL:

Arizona Cardinals

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Minor NFL Transactions: 9/5/22

Today’s minor moves around the NFL:

Baltimore Ravens

  • Released from IR via injury settlement: WR Shemar Bridgers

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

  • Waived: CB Allan George
  • Reverted to active roster: S Jessie Bates

Cleveland Browns

Detroit Lions

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Las Vegas Raiders

New York Giants

  • Waived: RB Sandro Platzgummer

New York Jets

Washington Commanders

Nixon generated significant draft buzz after his college career at Iowa. His final season with the Hawkeyes in 2020 included 5.5 sacks and 13.5 tackles for loss, though he fell to the fifth round that year. He played sparingly as a rookie, and has met injury troubles early in his pro career. Despite the move, Carolina has a number of options to call on in a rotational role behind Derrick Brown and Matt Ioannidis

The roster cutting by the Bengals was necessary with today being the time at which Bates’ time on the Commissioner’s Exempt List expired. The franchise-tagged safety was the final holdout of the 2022 offseason, inking his tender long past the deadline for a long-term deal to be finalized. Fully back to team practices and activities, Bates’ time on the list allowed him to ramp up at his own rate following a lengthy absence throughout the spring and summer.

Lancaster was one of several additions the Raiders made on the d-line during free agency. The former UDFA spent the first four years of his career in Green Bay, registering 10 starts in 2019. Other signings such as Bilal Nichols and Andrew Billings will see plenty of playing time along the defensive interior in his absence.

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.