The Cincinnati Bengals may be finishing their preseason Friday night against the Philadelphia Eagles, but the bigger roster game is already moving toward Sunday’s cutdown deadline.
By 6 p.m. on August 30, every team has to trim down to 53 players, and that opens the door to the waiver wire - where Cincinnati is in a decent spot to do some shopping if it needs to. The Bengals enter that process with the 10th claim priority, a result of their 2025 finish. Even after using their first-round pick to trade for defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence, they still sit tenth in the order when multiple teams want the same player.
That matters because the Bengals still have a few loose ends to tie up before the regular-season opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Most of the roster looks set, but the back end is not completely finished, and backup offensive tackle remains the biggest question. Linebacker, oddly enough, is not part of the same level of concern.
For now, the hope is that Friday night helps settle the tackle picture. If not, Cincinnati could be forced to look outside the building.
And it won’t be alone. Offensive line help is going to be one of the hottest items on the waiver wire, and the Bengals won’t be able to move up the board the way they can in a draft. They’ll have to wait their turn and hope the right player makes it to them.
That wait gets trickier when you look at who is ahead of them. Washington sits seventh and Kansas City is ninth, and both teams have been active enough recently to keep hunting for help up front. Then there are the injuries that have piled up since, which only makes the market tighter.
The Baltimore Ravens just lost their potential starter at center, Danny Pinter, for the year with a torn patellar tendon. The Houston Texans also took a hit when their potential starter at right tackle, Braden Smith, was carted off with a foot injury. Those two clubs are still behind Cincinnati in waiver priority, at 14th and 28th, but they’re now in the same pool of teams scrambling for line help.
And that’s before this weekend’s preseason games even finish, with more injuries possible and more teams potentially pushed into the same desperate search.
Cincinnati still has other paths if the waiver wire gets too crowded. Javon Foster or Jalen Rivers could still win the backup tackle job outright, and Corey Robinson II could get a real shot to prove himself. If none of that works, the Bengals could always swing a trade.
But if they do need to claim somebody, they’re positioned well enough to at least have a chance. Now it’s a matter of whether Kansas City, Houston, or one of the eight teams ahead of them gets there first.
In Other News...
Marvin Lewis Reopened A Bengals Debate Fans Know Too Well
Marvin Lewis has reopened one of the Bengals most familiar arguments, and this one goes straight to the heart of how the franchise has operated for years. In talking about Mike Browns approach, Lewis pointed to the long-term planning that has defined the organization, along with a reluctance to spend freely that often shaped how the roster was built and maintained.
Lewis also tied that philosophy to the departures of players during his time in Cincinnati and to the playoff frustrations that followed. The interesting part now is the contrast with the Joe Burrow era, when the Bengals have been more aggressive with spending and roster upgrades, a shift that suggests the franchise knows it has been pressed to adapt even if the old debate never really goes away. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals O-Line Stability Around Joe Burrow Suddenly Feels Far From Settled
The Bengals came into camp talking about continuity up front, with the same offensive line group back from last season and a blend of veteran experience and younger talent around Joe Burrow. But the early buzz has not been about a locked-in five so much as a steady stream of competition, with newcomers and developing players like Demetrius Knight and rookie Parker drawing attention as coaches sort through who can actually hold down key roles.
Health has only added to the uncertainty, since availability and performance have already been tied together in the early stages of camp. For a line that was supposed to offer more stability, the picture now looks much more fluid, and Cincinnati still has some sorting to do before it can feel good about how protected Burrow will be when the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Enter Final Roster Crunch With Tough Decisions Still Looming
The Bengals head into their final preseason game against the Eagles with one more chance to sort out the edges of the roster before the real decisions arrive. Cincinnati has looked organized through camp and is chasing its first undefeated preseason since 2006, but the bigger focus now is the 88-man group that must be trimmed to 53 within 48 hours after the game.
Plenty of spots are still up for grabs, with competition extending beyond the starters and primary backups into the roster bubble and practice squad conversation. The final tune-up should help clarify a few position battles, but for several players, the Eagles game is less about the scoreboard than making one last case before the Bengals start making cuts. [Read more 🡒]