Today’s minor moves:
Arizona Cardinals
Atlanta Falcons
Carolina Panthers
Cincinnati Bengals
Detroit Lions
Miami Dolphins
Oakland Raiders
Here are today’s exclusive-rights free agent tender decisions:
Tendered:
The injuries for the Bengals’ defense just keep piling up. The team placed defensive tackle Josh Tupou on injured reserve today, ending his season, the team announced via Twitter.
To take his spot on the 53-man roster, the team signed defensive tackle Niles Scott away from the Broncos’ practice squad. Tupou’s injury was a torn pec that he suffered in practice on Wednesday, according to Geoff Hobson of the Bengals.com (Twitter link). It’s the latest in a long string of defensive injuries for the Bengals, as several starters have already missed significant time this season.
A 2017 undrafted free agent from Colorado, Tupou was a deep reserve to start the season. However, he had begun playing heavy snaps in the past couple of weeks due to all the injuries. He played around 50 percent of the snaps the past couple of weeks as a run-stuffer inside, so it’s a pretty significant loss.
Scott is a rookie undrafted free agent who has bounced around a bit. From tiny Division III school Frostburg State, Scott originally signed with the 49ers and spent training camp with San Francisco. After a sting on the 49ers’ practice squad, he wound up in Denver, where he’d been until today. It’s always cool to see a D-3 guy get a chance, and he has a realistic chance to earn some playing time on this depleted Bengals squad.
The Bengals placed wide receiver John Ross on injured reserve with a shoulder injury. This brings an end to a frustrating year for the team’s first-round pick. 
The speedy wideout appeared in only three games this year and did not catch a single pass. Injuries marred his freshman season in the pros, which is exactly what scouts feared in the spring.
Ross was lighting quick, but he had more red flags than a USSR medal ceremony. He tore his ACL and missed the 2015 collegiate campaign and also underwent labrum surgery after the combine. Clubs loved his 4.22-second 40-yard-dash time, but many viewed him as a one contract player and not as a long-term investment. Next year, he’ll work to prove those critics wrong.
At 5-7, the Bengals have less than a 2% chance of reaching the playoffs. They’ll face the Bears, Vikings, Lions, and Ravens, without their top pick in tow.
In related moves, the Bengals have promoted defensive tackle Josh Tupou from practice squad and signed linebacker Carl Bradford to the practice squad.
Here are today’s practice squad moves:
Arizona Cardinals
Buffalo Bills
Chicago Bears
Cincinnati Bengals
Cleveland Browns
Detroit Lions
Indianapolis Colts
Green Bay Packers
Jacksonville Jaguars
Los Angeles Rams
Miami Dolphins
New England Patriots
Seattle Seahawks
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Pat Sims is back, and Bengals fans didn’t even get a chance to really miss him. After waiving Sims on Saturday, the Bengals are set to re-sign the defensive tackle, according to Jim Owczarski of the Cincinnati Enquirer. It is expected that defensive tackle Josh Tupou will be released to make room.
Sims was ruled out for Sunday’s game against the Broncos with a calf injury, which perhaps explains the team’s crafty move to drop him and then add him again days later. In theory, the Bengals could have lost the 31-year-old to waivers since even vested veterans go on the wire after the trading deadline, but he went unclaimed in the 24-hour window. It is believed that Sims will be ready to go against the Browns this week, Owczarski hears.
Sims has made seven starts for the Bengals this season, but it will be interesting to see how he is used upon his return. Against Denver, second-year player Andrew Billings played 52% of the defensive tackle snaps against the Broncos. Meanwhile, the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus indicate that Sims has been among the worst interior defenders in the league.
The Bengals have been busy this morning, making a series of roster moves. The team announced on Twitter that they’ve placed running back Jeremy Hill on the injured reserve and waived kicker Marshall Koehn. To take their place on the roster, the team has promoted safety Brandon Wilson and defensive tackle Josh Tupou.
Hill has been battling an ankle injury recently, forcing him to miss last weekend’s game against the Jaguars. Despite starting all seven games this season, the 25-year-old was on pace to set career-lows in several statistic categories. The former second-rounder has compiled only 116 rushing yards on 37 carries, a far cry from his 1,124-yard performance in 2014. The impending free agent running back had also hauled in only four receptions for 16 yards. With Hill done for the season, the team will presumably turn to Joe Mixon and Giovani Bernard to handle the majority of the carries.
Marshall Koehn filled in for Randy Bullock during last weekend’s game, converting his lone extra point attempt. With the team waiving the rookie out of Iowa, it’s a clear indication that Bullock should be ready to go this weekend against the Titans.
Wilson, a sixth-round pick in this past year’s draft, had spent the entire season on the Bengals’ practice squad. The Houston product will presumably slide in behind Shawn Williams, George Iloka, and Clayton Fejedelem on the Bengals’ depth chart. Meanwhile, Tupou is expected to fill in for defensive lineman Pat Sims, who is dealing with a calf injury.
Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four AFC North teams. Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline yesterday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters, claiming players off waivers or signing guys who clear waivers. Those transactions for the Ravens, Bengals, Browns, and Steelers are noted below.
Additionally, as of 12:00pm CT today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. You can check out our glossary entry on practice squads to brush up on those changes, as well as all the other guidelines that govern the 10-man units, whose players practice with the team but aren’t eligible to suit up on Sundays.
Here are Sunday’s AFC North transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day:
The Bengals officially made 30 moves on Saturday in order to reach the 53-man max. The full rundown is below.
Waived:
Released:
Reserve/Suspended:
The team also freed up a roster spot on Saturday by trading cornerback Bene Benwikere to Dallas for a conditional sixth-round draft pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
The Bengals have signed a baker’s dozen of undrafted free agents:
Nickerson is the son of Hardy Nickerson Sr., a former Pro Bowl linebacker and NFL coach. The elder Nickerson currently serves as Illinois’ defensive coordinator and that allowed him to coach his son towards the end of his collegiate career. Nickerson Jr. has been lauded for his work ethic, but some scouts question whether he can stick at the next level.
“He may get a legacy grade from some teams based on his tackle production and his bloodlines, but I’m struggling to find consistent tape of him where he looks like an NFL linebacker,” a regional scout for an NFC team told NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein.
The Bengals already have five running backs under contract, including rookie Joe Mixon, so tailbacks Jarveon Williams and Stanley Williams may be facing an uphill battle as they try to make the final cut.