Bengals tuck a big steal into newest practice squad signings

The Cincinnati Bengals wrapped up the practice squad a day later than anticipated by announcing five new additions. Tucked into those new arrivals for the Bengals was a pretty big surprise, too. First, the five names added to what is now a 16-man practice squad: QB Josh Johnson TE Tanner Hudson CB T

Football Zone

SEE ALL

Patriots Wire

Two Patriots players make PFF's Team of the Week for preseason Week 3

Florida Times-Union

Can quick start speed up contract talks between Parker Washington, Jaguars?

Dolphins Wire

Young Dolphins weapon want to be a captain in 2026

What is the story about?

The Cincinnati Bengals wrapped up the practice squad a day later than anticipated by announcing five new additions.

Tucked into those new arrivals for the Bengals was a pretty big surprise, too.

First, the five names added to what is now a 16-man practice squad:

QB Josh Johnson
TE Tanner Hudson
CB Trikweze Bridges
OT Blake Freeland
DE Garmon Randolph

Bengals fans on social media noticed it pretty quickly: Blake Freeland.

After cutting Cody Ford early, the Bengals went with waiver claim Myles Hinton and Javon Foster on the final 53 as tackle backups, if not swing-tackle backups.

But here comes Freeland, a fourth-round pick in 2023 by the Indianapolis Colts who played a big chunk of games for that club before missing all of last year due to injury.

While the Colts eventually went a different direction, the Bengals added Freeland for his

upside through what is some of the most wicked athleticism to hit the NFL level from his position in a long time:

BYU's Blake Freeland with a 37" vertical jump, the best recorded by an OL at the Combine.

That's better than some notable WRs:
AJ Brown (36.5)
Michael Pittman (36.5)
DeAndre Hopkins (36.0)
Stefon Diggs (35.0)
CeeDee Lamb (34.5)
Amari Cooper (33.0) pic.twitter.com/nNgqqi8tOU

— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) March 5, 2023

Make no mistake, it’s still an open competition for the tackle depth spots. They claimed Hinton, adding him to the 53, for good reason. But Freeland is a solid long-term investment with game experience if they need him to be active on a gameday, too.

And to summarize, a quick glance at the full 16-man practice squad: