The final 53-man roster cutdown is coming up Tuesday. The Bengals are currently sitting at a normal training camp roster, which unfortunately means three dozen guys will walk away from training camp with nothing except a good learning experience.
While most of these players are fully prepared to walk away with just that, others might be shocked, and others are trying to prove to their teammates, coaches, and organization that they fully deserve a spot on the roster.
If you look at the roster, it falls
into an almost tier-like system. You have your top tier of players, such as Joe Burrow, Ted Higgins, Ja’Marr Chase, and others, who have a 0% chance of being cut.
Then you have your middle tier of players, such as Marco Wilson, who have provided solid work, just haven’t quite got enough time to fully prove themselves, but when their time comes, they take advantage. The next tier is the fun one. These guys fully believe they deserve a chance to make the squad, and they have worked their tails off for it, guys like Mitchell Tinsley, who you saw show out in the last preseason game.
Here comes the battle!
Mitchell Tinsley, Cole Burgess, Devin Cochran, Andrew Coker, Joe Giles-Harris, PJ Jules, among others, are out to prove their worth.
But there are always two sides. Those guys are fighting to get on the roster, while others like Cam Grandy, Tanner Hudson, Shaka Heyward, Charlie Jones, Jermaine Burton, and Jaxson Kirkland are fighting to keep their spots. Some more than others, but still fighting. To these lower-tier guys, nothing is given to them, or at least shouldn’t be, and they definitely shouldn’t expect it to be.
Between the stacked depth chart and injuries, some of these guys may expect to make the team and get cut. You can’t keep 15 (exaggeration) tight ends, and even if you are a great player, if you’re always injured, why would the team keep paying you if you aren’t going to play?
Like I said, this is the fun part. Not so fun for the guys walking away, but more so for the guys who are proving the old saying, you have to work for what you get.
August 26 is the day final cuts must be made. Here are 10 Bengals who are fighting for their roster lives in the coming days.
Jermaine Burton – This may seem laughable to some, but why? He hasn’t given this anything besides a headache in his rookie season, and a couple of decent plays. Most likely, he stays, but what’s keeping the team from cutting ties? Burton still needs to prove he’s deserving of a roster spot.
Mitchell Tinsley – Vice versa for Tinsley. What’s keeping the Bengals from keeping Tinsley, who has proven respectability from his teammates and coaches and consistently made plays in practice and games? The good news is the Bengals will probably keep six wide receivers, the fifth and sixth being Burton and Tinsley. But if they decide to only keep five, who should get that final spot?
Tanner Hudson/Cam Grandy/Tanner McLachlan – I’m going to group the tight ends together. This group has stumped me a bit. They aren’t going to keep as many tight ends as they currently have, plus with the receivers they currently have.
Hudson seems to be the least likely one cut, due to his veteran status with the team and his reliability, despite a couple of injuries and clutch mistakes (I’ll leave it at that).
But Grandy, on the other hand, plays with grit. He doesn’t let anyone get in his way, and he fights until the end of the play every time.
Unfortunately, we haven’t seen McLachlan much at all. He seems to be the odd man out.
Kendall Milton – He is fighting with five other running backs for a spot. Every chance he’s had, though, he plays hard and fast. If he gets cut, he truly gave it his all.
Isaiah Williams – Same instance as Tinsley. Williams has been featured in numerous highlight videos throughout training camp, but there are only so many receiver spots available. He could walk away with a hell of an experience playing with Burrow, Chase, and Higgins, or he could stay and do what he’s been doing.
PJ Jules – He’s right in the mix. The secondary is slim, and the way they performed last season, nobody’s job should be safe. Most likely Jordan Battle and Geno Stone are safe, but Daijahn Anthony should keep his head on a swivel with Jules and a few others head-hunting.
Jake Browning – Didn’t think Browning would be on this list, did ya? Browning has proven to be a true asset for the team, especially when he led the Bengals in a playoff push a couple of years ago after Burrow went down. I’m not saying he’s going to get cut, but I wouldn’t say get comfortable. The Bengals picked up former Cincinnati Bearcat QB Desmond Ridder, and he’s been breathing down the neck of Browning for the backup spot. But ultimately, I think Browning keeps his spot.
Desmond Ridder – Ridder got picked up by the Bengals right before the start of training camp. Came as quite a bit of a shock to most, since everybody was scouring social media for a lineman addition. But Ridder has come in and shown the team he still has a little bit left in the tank.
These aren’t the only players to watch out for, but they will be some of the more interesting players to watch out for. With the cut deadline right around the corner, these players will certainly make the coaches have to think.