We've officially reached the do-or-die portion of training camp for Cincinnati Bengals players looking to make a statement and earn or keep roster spots.
The Bengals on Aug. 22 played their second of three preseason games, defeating the Chicago Bears 27-9 at Paycor Stadium. What will follow for Cincinnati is a short week culminating with the Friday, Aug. 28 preseason finale against the Philadelphia Eagles. Three practices will precede that game.
That's all that's separating the current Bengals roster from the Aug. 30 deadline for roster cuts. In other words, we have less than a week to go until Cincinnati finalizes its 53-man and practice squad rosters.
The countdown to the Sept. 13 regular-season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is almost
here. This is where we see the Bengals' roster with one preseason game to go:
Bengals quarterbacks (2)
- Joe Burrow, Joe Flacco.
Analysis: Obviously, our roster projections at the quarterback position didn't change based on the Bengals-Bears preseason game. Burrow and Flacco both sat, and Josh Johnson played the first half while Sean Clifford played the second half. Johnson was 15-for-23 for 156 yards and two touchdown passes, and that followed his taking far more snaps than Clifford in the preseason opener. Once Clifford got on the field against the Bears, he fit some balls into tight windows and threw a beautiful fade into the back corner of the south end zone for a touchdown. He also threw an interception in the fourth quarter (10-for-15, 126 yards, one touchdown, one interception).
Bengals running backs (3)
- Chase Brown, Samaje Perine, Tahj Brooks.
Analysis: Our roster projections at running back are unchanged. Brooks was the only one of our top-three backs to see time and he had a smattering of touches.
Bengals wide receivers (6)
- Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Andrei Iosivas, Colbie Young, Charlie Jones, Dohnte Meyers.
Analysis: There was a concerted effort to get the ball in receiver Dohnte Meyers' hands, and he delivered with his touches. He amassed 138 all-purpose yards midway through the third quarter. His touches included five catches (41 yards), one run (nine yards), three kick returns and two punt returns.
Colbie Young (three catches, eight targets) was the only player targeted more than Meyers (six), and he also won a one-on-one battle late in the first half to haul in a touchdown catch. Young's consistency this camp, plus Meyers' surge for a roster spot, makes Mitch Tinsley the odd man out for us.
Bengals tight ends (4)
- Mike Gesicki, Drew Sample, Erick All Jr., Tanner Hudson.
Analysis: Since Tanner Hudson needed to be out there against the Bears, at least he caught a touchdown pass for his trouble. Ideally, it gave him some breathing room in whatever late-camp roster conversation he might be a part of. That was also a target that might have gone to Jack Endries, who caught the only touchdown during the Bengals-Lions game but didn't register a catch against the Bears until midway through the third quarter.
Bengals offensive line (9)
- Orlando Brown Jr., Dylan Fairchild, Ted Karras, Dalton Risner, Amarius Mims, Cody Ford, Jalen Rivers, Brian Parker II, Connor Lew.
Analysis: Our projections for the offensive line room haven't changed, but one thing worth flagging is that Cincinnati might have offered a glimpse into the future with Brian Parker II and Connor Lew both starting on the o-line versus Chicago. Parker and Lew were sixth and fourth round picks in this year's draft, respectively.
Bengals defensive line (11)
- Dexter Lawrence, Jonathan Allen, B.J. Hill, Boye Mafe, Myles Murphy, T.J. Slaton Jr., Shemar Stewart, Cashius Howell, Kris Jenkins Jr., Cedric Johnson, Landon Robinson.
Analysis: McKinnley Jackson (one solo tackle vs. Bears) is still on the outside looking in for our roster projection. Landon Robinson (1.5 sacks, deflected a pass at the line of scrimmage, tackle-for-loss) is still above our cut line.
Bengals linebackers (5)
- Barrett Carter, Demetrius Knight Jr., Oren Burks, Shaka Heyward, Joe Giles-Harris.
Analysis: No movement in our projections as the last two linebackers we have making the cut didn't do anything to damage their respective cases.
Bengals cornerbacks (6)
- DJ Turner II, Dax Hill, Jalen Davis, Tacario Davis, Josh Newton, Bralyn Lux.
Analysis: No changes to our projected cornerback room. Tacario Davis was one of the Bengals' most prolific tacklers in the contest.
Bengals safeties (4)
- Bryan Cook, Kyle Dugger, Jordan Battle, PJ Jules.
- Analysis: No changes to our projected safety room.
Specialists (3)
- K Evan McPherson
- P Ryan Rehkow
- LS William Wagner
- Analysis: Nothing came close to changing for our projections of this group. The most eventful happening from this trio was that Evan McPherson's opening kickoff failed to reach the landing zone. His camp has been so solid that pointing out one of his very few errors almost feels unfair (McPherson ended up with field goal conversions of 25 and 58 yards).
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Check out the latest Bengals 53-man roster projections
