As NFL teams trim down to 53-man rosters and practice squads, plenty of former Cincinnati Bengals have been on the move. Jacob Saylors, though, is one of the few who came out of the chaos in a much better spot.
The former ETSU running back was an undrafted rookie free agent in Cincinnati in 2023, and that first stop in the league didn’t last long. After an underwhelming preseason, the Bengals cut him in final roster moves. At the time, the backs on Cincinnati’s 2023 roster were Joe Mixon, Chris Evans, and Trayveon Williams.
That name, Williams, ends up tying the whole story together. He and Saylors were in the same preseason backfield in 2023, and they crossed paths again this summer in 2026. This time, the outcome flipped: Saylors made the Lions, while Williams was released.
Williams is now part of a growing list of recent Bengals departures that includes Lucas Patrick, Cordell Volson, Marco Wilson, Geno Stone, and QB Jake Browning.
Saylors’ path since leaving Cincinnati has been anything but direct. He had short stints with the Atlanta Falcons, New York Giants, Cleveland Browns, and the UFL’s Saint Louis Battlehawks before landing on Detroit’s practice squad in 2025. He came into this preseason trying to win the No. 3 job, but his performance pushed him much higher up the depth chart.
That climb showed up clearly in Detroit’s final preseason game against the Colts, when Saylors ran 17 times for 100 yards. He backed that up with an overall strong preseason, enough for Dan Campbell to give him a public nod heading into Week 1.
Dan Campbell says he is “Comfortable” with RB Jacob Saylors as RB2 if Isiah Pacheco is OUT in week one, per @davebirkett
(🎥: @Lions #OnePride) pic.twitter.com/1t6TXrdu4j
- Woodward Sports Network (@woodwardsports) August 30, 2026
That matters because the top of Detroit’s backfield is a major job. Jahmyr Gibbs is the NFL’s highest-paid running back after signing a massive contract extension this offseason, and Saylors now sits directly behind him. That makes him one of the most valuable backups in the league.
The Lions also have Isiah Pacheco on the roster, but he is working back from injury. For now, Saylors is the back behind Gibbs.
Cincinnati, meanwhile, has a backfield that looks solid enough in its own right. Chase Brown is leading the group, Samaje Perine is backing him up, and second-year player Tahj Brooks made the initial 53, though that could still change. Brown is also in line for a new contract, one that should come in below the deals for Gibbs or Bijan Robinson but well above the rookie contract that has made him one of the most underpaid players in the league.
So yes, the Bengals are in decent shape at running back. But it’s still a nice twist to see a former Cincinnati castoff suddenly positioned to matter this season somewhere else.
And if the Bengals and Lions somehow meet in the Super Bowl, well, that’s when the good-luck wishes get pulled back.
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Bengals Offense May Look Very Different When Week 1 Arrives
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The bigger wrinkle is where that action is coming from. Under-center play-action has become a more visible part of the plan, and that is a meaningful change in philosophy under Zac Taylor. For a Bengals offense that has been at its best when Burrow can diagnose quickly and attack downfield, the question now is how different the Week 1 version really looks once the games start counting. [Read more 🡒]