Bengals 53-Man Roster Prediction: Final Edition

The Cincinnati Bengals have wrapped the 2025 preseason, and now the front office has the task of trimming their roster down to the final 53 players before the team opens the regular season in Cleveland on September 7. Some positions are set in stone. A few aren’t. Here’s our fifth, and final prediction of who’s in and who’s out.

Here are the previous four versions.

Quarterback (2)

Joe Burrow

Jake Browning

Cut: Desmond Ridder, Payton Thorne

Notes: No changes here. Burrow and Browning are locks.

Running Back (3)

Chase Brown

Tahj Brooks

Samaje Perine

Cut: Gary Brightwell, Quali Conley, Kendall Milton

Notes: No changes here. I don’t there’s there’s much of a point in keeping a fourth running back, especially when the offense flows through Burrow and the passing game, and that extra roster spot could be used on the defense.

Wide Receiver (6)

Ja’Marr Chase

Tee Higgins

Andrei Iosivas

Charley Jones

Jermaine Burton

Mitchell Tinsley

Cut: Cole Burgess, Jamoi Mayes, Jordan Moore, Rashod Owens, Isaiah Williams

Notes: No changes here. After the show Tinsley put on against the Commanders, Zac Taylor and the coaching staff must have decided they saw everything they needed to see. Tinsley was held out of the last preseason game, making me assume he’s got that final wide receiver spot.

Tight End (4)

Mike Gesicki

Drew Sample

Noah Fant

Tanner Hudson

Cut: Cam Grandy, Tanner McLachlan

IR: Erick All Jr.

Notes: Again, no changes here. Burrow has two really solid downfield threats in Gesicki and Fant, while Sample will be the primary blocking tight end. Hudson has shown he deserves a spot.

Offensive Line (10)

Orlando Brown Jr.

Dylan Fairchild

Ted Karras

Lucas Patrick

Amarius Mims

Jaxson Kirkland

Matt Lee

Jalen Rivers

Cody Ford

Seth McLaughlin

Cut: Devin Cochran, Andrew Coker, Andrew Raym, Andrew Stueber, Caleb Etienne

IR: Cordell Volson

Notes: Bengals fans all around the country are praying to the football gods that Dalton Risner and the Bengals come to an agreement to bring the free agent guard to Cincinnati. Right guard is an issue for the Bengals, and Volson is now out for the season. The Bengals opted to go with a bargain-bin signing in Patrick, and so far, it hasn’t helped them as much as they hoped.

Defensive Line (10)

Trey Hendrickson

B.J. Hill

T.J. Slaton

Joseph Ossai

Shemar Stewart

Myles Murphy

Kris Jenkins

McKinnley Jackson

Cam Sample

Taven Bryan

Cut: Isaiah Thomas, McTelvin Agim, Eric Gregory, Cedric Johnson, Howard Cross III, Raymond Johnson III

Notes: Again, we’re assuming Hendrickson will be on the field in Week 1. Most of these spots are set in stone, and the final call came down to Bryan vs Johnson for that final spot. I think the Bengals are thinner at DT than DE.

Linebacker (5)

Logan Wilson

Demetrius Knight Jr.

Oren Burks

Barrett Carter

Maema Njongmeta

Cut: Joe Giles-Harris, Shaka Heyward, Craig Young

Notes: I thought about keeping six linebackers, because Knight has struggled throughout the preseason, but I don’t think anyone on the cut list above is really going to be an upgrade.

Cornerback (6)

Cam Taylor-Britt

Dax Hill

D.J. Turner II

Josh Newton

DJ Ivey

Marco Wilson

Cut: Nate Brooks, Jalen Davis, Bralyn Lux, Lance Robinson

Notes: No changes here. I think these six are set. I thought about going with five here to add a sixth linebacker, but decided against it.

Safety (4)

Geno Stone

Jordan Battle

Tycen Anderson

PJ Jules

Cut: Daijahn Anthony, Jaylen Key, Shaquan Loyal

Notes: This position group makes me more nervous than just about any other. Anthony didn’t have a great camp, and he is now dealing with a hamstring injury. Jules played well on Saturday, and I think that could put him over the hump.

Special Teams (3)

Evan McPherson

Ryan Rehkow

Cal Adomitis

Cut: William Wagner

Notes: No changes here. McPherson is perfect on the preseason. No need to change a thing.

What do you think?

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