By the time Cincinnati Bengals players returned to their lockers post-practice on Sept. 1, they were well into the countdown toward the Week 1 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sept. 13. The excitement of setting what's expected to be a deeper, more talented 53-man roster, plus the 16-player practice squad, had mostly faded.
Only two days earlier, several Bengals players were basking in the achievement of earning a spot on the initial 53-man roster, which teams across the NFL set Aug. 30 at 6 p.m. EDT. Other veteran players and coaches were savoring the depth, which was anticipated prior to training camp on the defensive side but eventually grew to include offensive players, too.
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor, who anticipated a tense
and challenging weekend of sifting through difficult personnel decisions to arrive at his 53-man roster, said he ended up enjoying the cut-down process.
"It was ultimately fun to put together because we feel like we're really deep, even going out to the practice squad," Taylor said. "Yes, it was very challenging letting guys know that in other years maybe they would have made the 53, maybe would have made the practice squad, that they weren't going to get that this year or come back. But top to bottom, I feel like it's a really good group, and excited to get these guys."
The excitement around the group the organization assembled was still evident during and after the Bengals' Sept. 1 practice.
While it's not known if the retooled roster can fix the problems that plagued last season's team, the anticipation is high, particularly so for newcomers thought to be enhancing the overall depth.
Dohnte Meyers, a now-former CFL veteran who took an uncommon path to the NFL, is one of the players who offers exciting depth at receiver − which is no small feat considering how high the standards are in Cincinnati's receivers room.
Meyers now shares a locker room stall divider with Ja'Marr Chase. He discovered his belongings had been moved to the middle of a row of wide receiver stalls with Ke'Shawn Williams to his left and Andrei Iosivas farther down, plus Chase's two locker spaces and then Tee Higgins at the end of the row.
"I was looking around and it's a nice place to be," Meyers said. "All my boys next to me. It's gonna be a nice year."
Taylor was emphatic in explaining the decision to keep Meyers while also laying out clear expectations for where he'd serve the team initially.
"He has earned his way, that is for sure. He just continued to make plays over and over again. We weren't dialing stuff up for him. That is how you make it, really," Taylor said. "When the opportunity comes your way, you have to make the most of it. We will continue to see where we can utilize him in the return game. We will continue to see where we can utilize him as a receiver. It is a tough lineup to crack.
"He has shown with the ball in his hands he can be really good. He can create separation, and he has a good feel. I have been really pleased with the camp he has had, and we will just continue to figure out how that works into our game plan as we go forward."
The defensive line was an area where the Bengals knew they'd be deeper and, hopefully, more talented. But even there, surprises existed in the form of players such as Landon Robinson, the Navy product and late-round NFL draft pick who ended the preseason with four sacks.
Robinson had been a feel-good story throughout camp. By the end of the Aug. 22 preseason game against the Chicago Bears, he'd become an on-field and draft success story.
Robinson was unsure what to expect of the wait to find out about his roster fate following the Aug. 28 preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles, although he was confident that he'd done everything within his control to make a case for earning a spot. Fortunately for Robinson, he said he didn't have to wait too long as defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery called with good news around 10:30 a.m. on Aug. 30.
"Coach (Jerry) Montgomery called me and was kind of playing games with me on the phone a little bit," Robinson said. "Then, he told me the truth and I was like, 'man.' I started crying a little bit and just emotional, but it's emotional to be able to stay out here and keep working every day ... as soon as I got off the phone with coach, I was like, 'gotta work and keep going.' It didn't change anything for me."
Asked to compare the initial 2026 roster to the 2025 roster, Taylor said his biggest takeaway was the depth of the defensive line.
"That really jumps out. It’s waves there. I think that’s critical," Taylor said. "As a play-caller, what you deal with and the depth chart I put up every week, the first thing I look at is what we are dealing with up front. That’s first and foremost. If that is a deep group that continues to come at you, it makes it challenging to see beyond that in the back seven. So I feel like we’ve got that group right now without speaking about any other positions. We feel like that’s a great starting point, and we’ve invested a lot in that room. Really excited to see those guys go play."
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Bengals head coach Zac Taylor pleased with depth of 53-man roster
