The Bengals’ preseason ended Friday night, and now the real squeeze begins.
Cincinnati has to trim its roster from 90 players to 53 by 6 p.m. ET on Sunday night, and Zac Taylor made it clear this is going to be a brutal round of cuts. The head coach said he didn’t have any injury updates on Ja’Marr Chase or Dax Hill, but he did spend plenty of time talking about how hard the roster decisions are going to be across the defensive line, wide receiver room, tight end group and beyond.
"This will easily be the hardest 48 hours we face in terms of letting guys go and figuring out the practice squad," Taylor said. "Big credit to Duke and his staff for the depth that we have overall. It's a big credit to the coaching staff for how they developed a lot of these guys that have gotten in these competitions and made things hard for us.
"I think you're starting to see especially year two of the defensive scheme. A lot of guys make huge jumps on offense. I think the coaches have gotten the most out of these guys."
That depth showed up in the standings, too. Cincinnati went undefeated in the preseason for the first time since 2006, and Taylor said the last month reflected a team that has been building toward that kind of consistency.
"A lot of things we've been preaching I think, have really shown up over the last three preseason games," Taylor said about the overall performance from the last month. "Proud of the guys for going undefeated and finding ways to win, and and I thought this was a good win tonight.
Just doing it the way we want to do it, controlling the things that they control individually, playing together as a unit. I thought our team really came together.
"I thought the energy on the sideline was outstanding from a lot of guys that were playing or not playing. So those are all the things that I think a good team has.
If you're on the path to a successful season, you got a good culture, you got a good locker room. Guys are encouraging each other, and I saw that this preseason."
Now comes the part nobody enjoys: the final cutdown, and the practice-squad puzzle that follows.
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Bengals Have A Real Chance To Upgrade One Sneaky Roster Spot
With the NFLs roster cutdown deadline arriving Sunday evening, the Bengals are in the part of the process where the heavy lifting is mostly done but the final shopping still matters. Cincinnati appears largely set, yet this is also the window when a team can quietly improve itself by watching which players become available after other clubs trim down to 53.
One spot worth keeping an eye on is the waiver wire, where the Bengals could look to add help if the right fit shakes loose. Offensive tackle Cameron Williams and running backs Eli Heidenreich and Tyrone Tracy are among the names that could be in play, with each drawing some attention because of what they showed in the preseason and the roster math working against them elsewhere. The Bengals do not need to force a move, but this is the kind of late August opportunity that can turn a deep roster into a better one. [Read more 🡒]
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Before that game, Tahj Brooks looked like the likeliest answer for Cincinnatis third running back spot, but the competition has not sorted itself out as cleanly as expected after training camp and preseason evaluation. Haynes has at least pushed his name into the discussion for either the 53-man roster or a practice squad role, and for the Bengals, the last few decisions in the backfield suddenly carry a little more weight than they did earlier in the summer. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Still Face One Front Office Issue In The Burrow Window
Marvin Lewis has been around long enough to know the Bengals roster-building hurdles have never been limited to what happens on the field. During his time in Cincinnati, he dealt with a historically smaller scouting department and made changes aimed at giving the club more resources to evaluate players more efficiently. Even now, with the Joe Burrow era pushing the organization toward a more aggressive standard, the shape of the front office still matters as much as the depth chart.
Lewis pointed to the ongoing challenge of making sure college scouting and pro personnel work are balanced inside the same department, an issue that can affect how quickly a team identifies help and how well it manages the roster year-round. Cincinnati has added to its scouting staff in recent seasons as part of broader organizational adjustments, but the larger question remains whether those changes are enough to keep pace with the demands of a contenders window. [Read more 🡒]