Elijah Collins - Pro Football Rumors

Bengals Cut Roster Down To 53 Players

August 27th, 2024 at 8:16pm CST by Ely Allen

The Bengals utilized the following roster moves to get down to the required 53-man roster:

Released:

CB Jalen Davis
QB Logan Woodside

Waived:

DT Travis Bell
CB Nate Brooks
WR Cole Burgess
T Devin Cochran
RB Elijah Collins
DT Carlos Davis
DT Domenique Davis
C Nate Gilliam
TE Cam Grandy
LB Devin Harper
LB Shaka Heyward
C Trey Hill
WR Shedrick Jackson
S PJ Jules
WR Kendric Pryor

Waived/injured:

CB Lance Robinson

Placed on IR (designated for return):

DE Myles Murphy
P Brad Robbins

Placed on reserve/PUP list:

CB DJ Ivey

No surprises in Cincinnati this evening. Ivey will start the year on PUP after he tore his ACL late last year. Murphy and Robbins will be forced to miss the first four games of the season, as well, but since they’ve been designated for return, they will have the option to return at some point in the season.

Woodside was unable to beat out Jake Browning for the honor of backing up Joe Burrow, who has missed a decent amount of time since getting drafted.

The Bengals retained all of their draft picks from this past April with all 10 making the initial roster. The undrafted group had a bit less luck, but Wisconsin linebacker Maema Njongmeta will enter the year on the active roster. Robinson was waived with an injury designation and may make a return via the IR.

Bengals Sign 14 Undrafted Free Agents

May 11th, 2024 at 4:53pm CST by Ely Allen

After an unexpected fourth-place finish in the AFC North, the Bengals went to work in order to get back into the race of the league’s toughest division, putting together a 10-man rookie draft class. They’ll expand their rookie group by 14 with these undrafted free agent additions:

Justin Blazek, DE (Wisconsin-Platteville)
Cole Burgess, WR (SUNY Cortland)
Noah Cain, HB (LSU)
Aaron Casey, LB (Indiana)
Elijah Collins, HB (Oklahoma State)
Michael Dowell, S (Miami (OH))
Cam Grandy, TE (Illinois State)
PJ Jules, S (Southern Illinois)
Rocky Lombardi, QB (Northern Illinois)
Austin McNamara, P (Texas Tech)
Eric Miller, OT (Louisville)
Tre Mosley, WR (Michigan State)
Maema Njongmeta, LB (Wisconsin)
Lance Robinson, CB (Tulane)

On offense, Burgess was a small school stud in Division III football. In three years as a starter in college, Burgess caught 176 balls for 3,095 yards and 35 touchdowns. He has clearly demonstrated that he has the tools to succeed in the NFL after dominating at the DIII level, but he will need to handle the significant leap in the level of competition to earn a roster spot.

Another small school phenom, Blazek will likewise need to make the jump to NFL competition. In two full seasons as a starter, Blazek earned DIII first-team All-American honors with a combined 17.5 sacks, 29.0 tackles for loss, and 11 passes deflected. He has the athleticism and the drive to make a go at a roster spot. Jules is one more small school prospect with massive production. He has great range and plays the ball aggressively, helping him get 29 passes defensed in his career. He also showed the other side of safety play in 2023, tallying 111 tackles and 13.0 tackles for loss.

It was a bit of a shock to see Casey go undrafted after a monster season for the Hoosiers. After leading the team in total tackle (86) and tackles for loss (10.5) in his first season as a starter in 2022, Casey stuffed the stat sheet with 109 tackles, 20.0 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, and three forced fumbles in 2023. He takes a lot of risks that bite him, but he’s an aggressive defender with NFL potential. Njongmeta’s production came more in 2022, but in his two years as a starter, he combined for 154 tackles, 20.0 tackles for loss, and 6.5 sacks.

Ben Levine contributed to this post.