The Bengals may have a familiar answer sitting right in front of them as they look to shore up the back end of their running back room.
With Cincinnati carrying a shaky hierarchy behind Chase Brown, Khalil Herbert’s recent release by San Francisco puts him back on the radar. The 28-year-old already spent time with the Bengals, and another reunion could give the team a needed jolt behind Brown, Samaje Perine and Tahj Brooks.
Herbert’s career has been a mixed bag, but the early profile was promising. He put up Pro Football Focus grades above 72 in each of his first three seasons before the last two years brought dips to 61.8 and 52 overall.
Still, the Bengals have already seen what he can do in their own offense. When Brown missed time in 2024, Herbert stepped in after Cincinnati sent its 2025 seventh-round pick to Chicago and delivered a steady stretch: 4.1 yards per carry on 28 rushing attempts, plus eight catches on nine targets for 21 yards.
He’s not the kind of addition that changes the ceiling of the offense, but that’s not the point here. NFL seasons are long, injuries happen, and depth can turn into a real asset fast.
Herbert also brings something else that matters in a backup role: a stronger pass-blocking profile than Perine showed last season. Herbert posted a career-best 77 overall PFF grade as a pass blocker, though that came on just 12 passing sets. Perine, by contrast, struggled badly in that area, finishing with a 39.1 grade on 48 blocks.
That sort of detail matters in Cincinnati, especially if the team wants more trust in the room behind Brown. Herbert didn’t need to block anyone on a passing snap last week, and a reunion would give him a real shot to compete with the veteran for playing time.
When the Bengals traded for Herbert in 2024, Zac Taylor pointed to the kind of player they believed they were getting.
“He can help us in a lot of different ways. He has played a lot of football in his time in Chicago.
We got good reports on him coming out of college and evaluated his play over the last couple of days. Excited to add him to the mix,” Taylor said.
If Herbert still has something left in the tank, Cincinnati can give him a clear path to snaps.
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