With two preseason games complete and two more to go, below is my mid-preseason 53 man roster prediction for the Bengals based on what I’ve seen thus far. The most heated roster battle appears to be at wide receiver, especially when it comes to who the 4th and 5th receivers will be. The Bengals usually keep 6 receivers on the 53 man roster and there seems to be much debate as to whether Brandon Tate will make the team this year as the teams primary return man or if he will be cut as college free agent WR Alex Erickson has shined when he has had opportunity both returning punts and catching the football. Injuries have sidelined receivers such as Mario Alford and Jake Kumerow so we shall see if they are able to contribute over the final two preseason games.
Below is how I see the roster shaping up at this point, the number I think the team keeps at each position is in parenthesis.
Quarterbacks (2): Andy Dalton, A.J. McCarron
Running Backs (4): Jeremy Hill, Giovani Bernard, Cedric Peerman, Rex Burkhead
Wide Receivers (6): A.J. Green, Brandon LaFell, Tyler Boyd, Brandon Tate, James Wright, Cody Core
Tight Ends (4): Tyler Eifert, Tyler Kroft, C.J. Uzomah, Ryan Hewitt
Offensive Lineman (9): Andrew Whitworth, Kevin Zeitler, Russell Bodine, Clint Boling, Cedric Ogbuehi, Jake Fisher, Eric Winston, Christian Westerman, T.J. Johnson
Defensive Lineman (9): Carlos Dunlap, Geno Atkins, Domata Peko, Michael Johnson, Will Clarke, Pat Sims, Marcus Hardison, Margus Hunt, DeShawn Williams
PUP: Brandon Thompson
IR: Andrew Billings
Linebackers (6): Rey Maualuga, Karlos Dansby, Vincent Rey, Nick Vigil, P.J. Dawson, Marquis Flowers
Suspended: Vontaze Burfict
Defensive Backs (10): Adam Jones, Dre Kirkpatrick, Darqueze Dennard, Josh Shaw, Chris Lewis-Harris, George Iloka, Shawn Williams, Derron Smith, Jimmy Wilson, Clayton Fejedelem
IR: William Jackson III
Special Teams (3): Mike Nugent, Kevin Huber, Clark Harris
Couple of thoughts. Injuries along the Defensive Line appear to mean that no significant cuts/decisions will be made, which is not necessarily a good thing.
Also, I am hoping that you are wrong about Trey Hopkins not making the final cut. He has dealt with more than his fair share of injuries, but has been solid whenever given the opportunity to get out on the field.
Finally, I think Alex Erickson has shown enough upside to make this roster, and though I highly doubt that it will come at the expense of Tate’s roster spot, I sure wish that it could.
Tough preseason, but in the end only 2 of the injuries turned out to be season-ending.
Let’s get to it… WHO-DEY!
I agree regarding the injuries along the defensive front (referring to Andrew Billings and Brandon Thompson). Trey Hopkins was a tough one for me, not sure if he will make it but it’s hard to see them cutting T.J. Johnson since they have no true center behind Bodine, maybe they keep an extra offensive lineman, we shall see.
I’m kind of pulling for Erickson as well, would not be disappointed if he made the team instead of Tate or in addition. Who Dey!
I hope they keep 7 WRs like they did a few years ago, and Erickson does make it, TATE is released, and they keep Kumerow!
I wouldn’t be opposed to keeping 7 receivers as well.
Please cut Tate. He sucks worse than words can possibly say and he is taking valuable spots from younger players who can actually return punts without calling fair catches and run decent routes….
I Agree he is lazy and sleeps in barber shops….His down low ass needs to be out practicing….