Bengals Beat: Camp Begins To Shape Latest 53-man roster in Projection 2.0

CINCINNATI – Heading into Saturday’s preseason opener, battles for roster spots are heating up.

In the second projection of camp, we focus on who has made strides in catching the eyes of coaches and could be making a run at securing a spot on the roster.

The Bengals play Tampa Bay Saturday, leave for Chicago Wednesday for a joint practice Thursday, then another game in Chicago on Aug. 17, then a joint practice with the Colts on the 20th and the preseason finale on Aug. 22.

The first major injury of camp happened on Aug. 2 when Cam Sample tore his Achilles. He is out for the season.

Sam Hubbard, another veteran coming off ankle surgery last season, dinged his left knee on July 28 after shedding a block from Mike Gesicki but is presumed to be OK. This is likely to give 2023 Myles Murphy more reps with the first team.

Ever NFL team needs to cut from a maximum of 90 players to 53 by Tuesday, Aug. 27 at 4 p.m. ET. The opener is Sunday, Sept. 8 vs. New England at Paycor Stadium.

Tight end Erick All Jr. and Trent Brown are off the non-football injury list. All has been practicing for a week while Brown began individual drills with the team on Monday.

CB DJ Ivey and DT Devonnsha Maxwell remain on the Active PUP list.

• Key Additions:

Free agents: Geno Stone, Vonn Bell, Sheldon Rankins, Trent Brown, Zack Moss, Mike Gesicki
Draft: Amarius Mims, Kris Jenkins Jr., Jermaine Burton, McKinnley Jackson, Erick All, Josh Newton, Tanner McLachlin, Cedric Johnson, Daijahn Anthony, Matt Lee

• Second-year risers:

Myles Murphy, DJ Turner II, Jordan Battle, Charlie Jones, Chase Brown, Brad Robbins, Andrei Iosivas, DJ Ivey, Shedrick Jackson

• Key Losses:

Free agents: Jonah Williams (Arizona), DJ Reader (Detroit), Tyler Boyd (Tennessee), Chidobe Awuzie (Tennessee), Nick Scott (Carolina), Mitchell Wilcox (New England)
Traded: Joe Mixon (Houston)
Injury: Cam Sample

Without further ado, we present the second 2024 Bengals 53-man roster projection.

OFFENSE (25):

• Quarterback (2):

Joe Burrow, Jake Browning
Getting reps: Logan Woodside, Rocky Lombardi

Trags take: Burrow will take his first reps in a preseason game since Week 3 of the 2021 preseason against Miami. In that game, he took three snaps, threw one pass (incomplete for Ja’Marr Chase) and didn’t play again in a 29-26 loss to the Dolphins. He figures to get more than three snaps this time. 10-12 snaps over one or two series would be a good number He has looked better with each practice, with his passes showing more zip and purpose. Saturday is a good game for Browning to demonstrate he is ready to pick up where he left off last season, proving a very competent back-up to Burrow.

• Running back (3):

Zack Moss, Chase Brown, Trayveon Williams
Getting reps: Chris Evans, Noah Cain, Elijah Collins

Trags take: Brown and Moss will be battling right down to the wire for the job of primary back, with the possibility of the two splitting time as the opener approaches. Both have flashed in camp so far. A very competitive battle, as expected in the offseason. Evans needs to spark in the preseason to keep eyes and minds open about his future with the Bengals, perhaps on the practice squad.

• Tight end (4):

Mike Gesicki, Drew Sample, Tanner Hudson, Erick All Jr.
Getting reps: Tanner McLachlin, Cam Grandy

Trags take: A revision here. The assumption that a team takes all of its picks into a season does not always hold and there’s a good case for an exception here. The Bengals selected a pair of tight ends in April but only Erick All, coming off an ACL injury last season with Iowa, appears certain to make the roster. Tanner McLachlin is likely to be cut and then, if he makes it through waivers, returns on the practice squad. Hudson is a known commodity and the back-up long snapper, making him valuable in two areas.

• Wide Receiver (6):

Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Jermaine Burton, Trenton Irwin, Charlie Jones, Andrei Iosivas
Getting reps:Kwamie Lassiter II, Cole Burgess, Kendric Pryor, Hakeem Butler, Tre Mosley, Shedrick Jackson

Trags take: While fans and outsiders wait on “The Plan” to see when Chase will return to practice – and games, Burton, Jones, Iosivas, Butler, Burgess and Pryor all figure to see valuable game reps. Burton missed time with the tweaked ankle but appears OK. He will get some valuable snaps in preseason and the Bengals want to see what he looks like as the move him around and just how fast he picks up the offense.

• Offensive line (10):

Orlando Brown Jr., Trent Brown, Amarius Mims, Matt Lee, Jaxson Kirkland, Ted Karras, Alex Cappa, Cody Ford, Cordell Volson, Trey Hill
Getting reps: Jackson Carman, Devin Cochran, D’Ante Smith, Nate Gilliam, Eric Miller

Trags take: Not much has changed about this group except for the return of Trent Brown off NFI. All eyes will be on Amarius Mims as he makes his NFL preseason debut Saturday against Tampa Bay. Jackson Carman needs to once again show he is worthy of a back-up spot, with Devin Cochran and D’Ante Smith pushing him. There will be some very interesting battles to watch in the trenches.

DEFENSE(25):

• Edge (5):

Trey Hendrickson, Sam Hubbard, Joseph Ossai, Myles Murphy, Cedric Johnson
Getting reps: Jeff Gunter, Justin Blazek
Injured: Cam Sample

Trags take: Biggest change here is Cam Sample. He’s headed to the season-ending IR with a torn Achilles. Sam Hubbard and Trey Hendrickson remain “week-to-week” but the team isn’t overly concerned about either. Joseph Ossai is the player to watch here. His goal is two-fold. Make it through camp and preseason healthy. Show consistent flashes like he did Monday in camp, where he was a play-making machine in both the run and pass game. Bengals like the athletic Cedric Johnson as a rookie. He will get lots of reps in camp and preseason.

• IDL (5):

Sheldon Rankins, B.J. Hill, Kris Jenkins Jr., McKinnley Jackson, Zach Carter
Getting reps: Domenique Davis, Travis Bell, Jay Tufele

Trags take: McKinnley Jackson left Monday’s practice limping. His status for Saturday is not known. He was carted off the field. The depth here is shaky. They need the likes of Zach Carter and Domenique Davis to show their potential. Jay Tufele is still in the conversation. The Bengals really need a close look at Jenkins to see if his freakish athleticism will translate immediately on an NFL field in the trenches.

• Linebackers (5):

Logan Wilson, Germaine Pratt, Akeem Davis-Gaither, Joe Bachie, Devin Harper
Getting reps: Aaron Casey, Maema Njongmeta, Shaka Heyward

Trags take: Again, another veteran group, with the top five spots between starters and special teams contributions, appears to be set. Not much has changed here over the first week and a half.

• Cornerbacks (6):

Dax Hill, Mike Hilton, Cam Taylor-Britt, DJ Turner II, Josh Newton, Daijahn Anthony
Getting reps: Jalen Davis, Allan George, Nate Brooks, Lance Robinson, DJ Ivey,

Trags take: Daijahn Anthony has been turning heads here with picks in 11s (Jake Browning) and 7s (Joe Burrow) and has been making enough plays to move up into the final six spots in a very deep room. His versatility at corner and safety help him immensely. Turner and Hill remain neck-and-neck in the battle for the corner spot opposite Cam Taylor-Britt. Could Bengals sneak DJ Ivey through waivers and have him land on practice squad?

• Safeties (4):

Vonn Bell, Geno Stone, Jordan Battle, Tycen Anderson
Getting reps: Michael Dowell, PJ Jules

Trags take: The story here is Tycen Anderson and his role. He is valuable on special teams and will get more time in preseason in Lou Anarumo’s defense.

SPECIAL TEAMS (3):

• Kicker (1):

Evan McPherson
Getting reps: None

Trags take: Only question here is if a contract extension gets done before the season opener and if it looks anything like the four-year, $25.6 million Harrison Butker signed Monday.

• Punter/Holder(1):

Brad Robbins
Getting reps: Austin McNamara, Ryan Rehkow

Trags take: McNamara and Rehkow have been pushing Robbins, with Rehkow perhaps with the slight edge. Both have big legs and have demonstrated the ability to get off booming punts with 5-plus second hangtime. The issue is consistency. One of the battles to watch very closely in preseason starting Saturday.

• Long snapper (1):

Cal Adomitis
Getting reps: None

Trags take: Adomitis, entering his third season, has done very well so far following in the footsteps of Clark Harris. Reliable and consistent. All Darrin Simmons wants out of that position.