Football is back! The Cincinnati Bengals opened their 2024 preseason with a home game at Paycor Stadium against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and lost 17-14.
The starters played for a short time on Saturday night. Joe Burrow and the starting offense stormed down the field and scored on their first possession before being taken out of the game, and the starting defense forced the Bucs into a three-and-out on their first drive.
After that, the substitutes took over and we could see a few players on the fence who may have played their way into the 53-man roster or been dropped from it. The roster is expected to be finalized by August 27th. And now, with the first preseason game underway, here’s another attempt to finalize the roster.
(You can watch the first one here, after the team finished minicamp.)
quarterbacks (2)
Notes: Burrow’s position is set in stone. He’s a made man, one of the few in the NFL. Browning has been overshadowed by third-string quarterback Logan Woodside, but that won’t change anything. Good for Woodside for making some great shots. We saw the caliber of quarterback Browning last season. The preseason won’t change that.
Half-back (4)
- Follow Braun
- Zack Moss
- Trayveon Williams
- Elijah Collins
Notes: Brown, Moss and Williams are set in my opinion. Brown is poised for a breakout season, Moss was signed as a free agent and Williams wants to be more involved in the offense. Chris Evans is the ultimate bubble player. We’ve seen glimpses, but he hasn’t contributed much, if at all. Collins caught a couple of passes and gained six yards on his only run. Most importantly, he wasn’t a liability as a pass blocker on Saturday night, which is obviously important to the Bengals.
Wide receiver (6)
- Ja’Marr Chase
- Tea Higgins
- Jermaine Burton
- Thomas E.
- Andrei Iosivas
- Charlie Jones
Notes: I’d say that’s a pretty safe bet unless Jones’ knee is an issue. Chase and Higgins are 1 and 1A, Burton excelled on Saturday, Irwin and Iosivas both caught passes, and Jones has had a solid training camp so far by all accounts. It’s possible someone else could slide ahead of one of the bottom two, but that would likely have to be the result of an injury.
- Mike Gesicki
- Drew Sample
- Erick All Jr.
- Tanner Hudson
Notes: That’s what happens when you build depth at a position in just one offseason. They signed Gesicki, re-signed Sample and Hudson, and drafted All and Tanner McLachlan. Gesicki is more of a slot receiver than an in-line tight end, and Sample is more of an H-back than a tight end, so that’s a well-stocked roster. Hopefully McLachlan makes the practice squad. I’m just struggling to cut someone to keep them on the active roster.
Offensive Line (9)
- Orlando Brown Jr.
- Cordell Volson
- Ted Karras
- Alex Cappa
- Trent Brown
- Amarius Mims
- Cody Ford
- Matt Lee
- Eric Miller
Notes: Jackson Carman was bad on Saturday night. He was also somehow responsible for FOUR penalties (three holding and a false start). He’s out and someone, anyone else, is in. Miller has played well, especially as a pass blocker. You lose the versatility that Carman brings, but I think it’s time for the Bengals to deal with a player who can be bad at multiple positions.
Defence line (10)
- Trey Hendrickson
- BJ Hill
- Sheldon Rankin
- Sam Hubbard
- Michael Murphy
- Joseph Ossai
- Kris Jenkins
- McKinley Jackson
- Jay Tufele
- Cedric Johnson
Notes: Cam Sample is out for the rest of the season, and that opens up the opportunity for Johnson to step up. Outside of the starting lineup, there’s still a lot of uncertainty. Murphy and Ossai are often used as edge rushers, but we don’t really know what the Bengals have in Jenkins and Jackson yet. Outside of Rankins and Hill, there are some questions about the middle of the defensive line and their ability to stop the run in a division that features Nick Chubb, Derrick Henry and Najee Harris.
Linebackers (5)
- Logan Wilson
- Germaine Pratt
- Akeem Davis Gaither
- Joe Bachie
- Maema Njongmeta
Notes: Lou Anarumo usually has the Bengals playing in a nickel formation, and Mike Hilton’s ability to play in the box makes him a hybrid player. This mostly leaves only two linebacker positions on the field at once, and those two linebackers are usually Pratt and Wilson. ADG can be used as an extra linebacker in some situations, but for the most part, he, Njongmeta and Bachie are primarily special teams contributors. Njongmeta was everywhere Saturday night.
Corner (6)
- Cam Taylor Britt
- DJ Turner II
- Michael Hilton
- Jalen Davis
- Dax Hill
- Josh Newton
Notes: CTB, Turner and Hilton will be the starters, while Davis will be the slot backups and Hill and Newton will be the outside backups. There is a lot of new talent at this position. Even though DJ Ivey has been placed on the PUP list, the position seems to be in pretty good hands.
Security (4)
- Geno-Stone
- Vonn Bell
- Battle of Jordan
- Daijah Anthony
Notes: Stone and Bell will probably start, but I’m sure Battle will get his start. The fourth position is still up for grabs. Tycen Anderson didn’t play on Saturday, but Anthony did, and he didn’t do too badly. If you can’t play on the field, you (usually) don’t make the team.
Specialists (3)
- Evan McPherson
- Cal Adomitis
- Brad Robbins
Notes: McPherson and Adomitis are set. Robbins and Rehkow each punted three times on Saturday and both looked… good. Neither was able to pull away from the other and neither did anything that really hurt them. So I’m going to stick with the current lineup.
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Who did I leave out? Who do you think is being left out of the above?
Who are you?
