Bengals bubble: Analyzing four roster questions needing answers before final cuts

CINCINNATI When the conversations turn tough this week with the Cincinnati Bengals cutting the roster from 90 all the way down to 53 players on Tuesday, special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons finds himself in the middle of the conversation.

CINCINNATI — When the conversations turn tough this week with the Cincinnati Bengals cutting the roster from 90 all the way down to 53 players on Tuesday, special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons finds himself in the middle of the conversation.

He has his thoughts. He has his guys. The needs of the team, long-term and short-term, often don’t align.

Advertisement

“I feel like a lobbyist,” Simmons said. “I’m like a lawyer in there trying to plead my case for some guys.”

With training camp concluding Thursday and only one game Saturday night remaining, the staff has been able to whittle decisions in the air to a select few:

• Seven WRs?
• Who are the tight ends?
• How to chop the loaded defensive line?
• Who is the sixth corner?

Let’s take a look at the past, present and future that shape the fate of the Bengals on the bubble.

“Hopefully what they do in this third game will flip the scale one way or the other,” Simmons said. “Our focus is pretty narrowed down to four, five or six battles.”

Seven WRs?

Past: The Bengals kept seven WRs every year under head coach Zac Taylor before last season, which ended up at six once they arrived at opening day (after cutdown roster gymnastics).

Present: Cincinnati has a clear six of Ja’Marr Chase, Tyler Boyd, Tee Higgins, Trenton Irwin, Andrei Iosivas and Charlie Jones. The question of keeping seven receivers arrives when discussing special teams standout Stanley Morgan.

The Bengals typically keep six receivers active on game day, so either Iosivas or Jones would be left in street clothes and Morgan would add value primarily on special teams. No, Morgan doesn’t bring much as a receiver, but lobbyist Simmons spells out the effect on wins and losses quite well.

“He’s been the juice behind what we do,” he said. “He’s been the locomotive pulling the train in terms of emotion and energy. He’s been a very important piece for us. That’s not just me saying that. I get that from other coaches around the league.”

Future: If Morgan were cut, he would likely be gone for good. His value on special teams would be valued elsewhere. Considering his value and history of keeping seven WRs, they likely try to find a spot to skimp elsewhere.

go-deeper

GO DEEPER

Who should be Joe Burrow's backup? Weighing Bengals' options and most likely move

Who are the tight ends?

Past: The Bengals have kept three tight ends each of the last three years, although, after adding Devin Asiasi (Patriots) via waiver wire last year, they kept four until Drew Sample suffered a season-ending knee injury in Week 2. They also play as much 11 personnel (1RB, 1TE) as any team in the league.

Advertisement

Present: What do we know beyond starter Irv Smith Jr.? Very little.

“Everyone is still competing for those jobs and until those things are all done, no one has cemented their status anywhere,” Taylor said.

Drew Sample has been the assumed TE2 because coaches have long valued his reliability and blocking strength. Yet, he’s not had a particularly productive camp and is coming off a serious knee injury. Even considering his return from injury, Taylor points to the same intangibles that drew the team to him as a second-round pick in 2019.

“We got a lot of trust in Drew,” Taylor said. “One of the smartest guys you got on the team and can fill a lot of roles for you that way.”

Last year’s TE3 Mitchell Wilcox just came off PUP and is a good bet to be in the group, but they are gauging where he’s at physically after months without contact. He will play Saturday and it will serve as a chance to solidify he’s still the player he was as a solid contributor last season.

After that, fourth-year tight end Tanner Hudson has looked like the best pass catcher among the backups but is a tweener in size (6-4, 239). His string of impressive catches in camp might be enough to latch on.

Beyond that there are three similarly large, plodding tight ends: Asiasi, Nick Bowers and Christian Trahan.

The point being, you’d better believe the tight end position could swing on Saturday.

Future: This feels like a position that produces an outside addition or, perhaps two, whether via waiver wire or trade of depth pieces (DL for TE?). This would be when all those drafted tight ends show themselves in making expendable a veteran or two across the league. Here are a few notable tight ends projected on the bubble: Nick Muse (Vikings), Zach Gentry (Steelers), Stephen Sullivan (Panthers/LSU), Anthony Firkser (Patriots), Sean McKeon (Cowboys).

Raymond Johnson III has impressed during camp and the preseason for the Bengals. (Katie Stratman / USA Today)

How to chop the loaded defensive line?

Past: The Bengals have kept 10 defensive linemen each of the last two seasons. They kept nine in 2020 and 11 in 2019. They traded for B.J. Hill at final cuts in 2021.

Advertisement

Present: Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo is just looking greedy when evaluating the Bengals’ depth in camp on the defensive line, specifically edge rusher. On top of first-round pick Myles Murphy being buried at fourth among the edge group (with an important Saturday of snaps in his development on deck), Cam Sample continues to provide versatility and reliability as a backup. Meanwhile, on the outside of the cut looking in are Jeff Gunter, Raymond Johnson III and Tarell Basham. Gunter made an impression with a strong camp last year and played 10 games for the Bengals as a rookie seventh-rounder. Basham, 29, had 3.5 sacks and 11 QB hits for the Cowboys just two years ago but missed most of camp with a leg injury. Johnson has done nothing but impress at every opportunity.

On the interior, journeyman Domenique Davis, with an incredible backstory including the USFL, has been impossible to ignore. Jay Tufele made his mark with solid play when called upon last season when DJ Reader went down and that goes a long way in building trust.

Still, of the 88 defensive linemen with at least 50 total defensive snaps this preseason, the vast difference in production between Johnson and Davis against Gunter and Tufele has been notable.

Bengals DL preseason pass rushers

PlayerPRush SnapsPressure%Rank (of 88)

Domenique Davis

38

15.8%

11

Raymond Johnson III

37

14.3%

17

Jay Tufele

44

2.3%

74

Jeff Gunter

47

2.2%

75

Standard disclaimer applicable about preseason and small samples, but those are performances that matter. Johnson and Davis forced a turnover with their pressure. Yet, you have to squint to find a spot on the roster for any of them.

Add in that backup defensive tackle Josh Tupou ranked 163rd in pressure percentage out of 193 defensive linemen with at least 250 snaps last year and Zach Carter ranked 188th.

Anarumo faces the challenge of weighing preseason performances against more known quantities that played for him in the regular season.

“You look at all of it, what they’re going against, who they’re going against, when they’re in the game, all that goes,” Anarumo said. “And what they’re doing in practice. They’ve all showed well at different times against different players. (Johnson and Davis) are certainly making for challenging decisions in certain areas.”

Advertisement

Future: The Bengals want to win now. They are built for a Super Bowl so the last thing they want to do is give away a player who could be needed come January. That said, there are only so many capable of keeping in the building. The likelihood of stashing Davis and Johnson on the practice squad is better than most, but when you look at what they put on tape, it’s certainly a risk.

Who is the sixth corner?

Past: The Bengals kept six corners in 2020 and 2021. They originally kept seven last year before landing at five by opening day because of an injury to Cam Taylor-Britt and moving Allan George to the practice squad to make space for waiver wire pickups.

Present: This has boiled down to seventh-round pick DJ Ivey versus veteran Sidney Jones. The veteran has been nursing a hamstring through the last two weeks that’s specifically put any hope of proving himself in jeopardy. Meanwhile, the seventh-round pick out of Miami has popped athletically but is still growing in terms of his coverage skills.

go-deeper

GO DEEPER

‘A legend in my eyes’: How a selfless 12-year vet fuels Bengals' youth movement at safety

Anarumo has liked Ivey’s approach and consistency on top of the athleticism that made him draftable. Also, Simmons specifically pointed out a nice play Ivey made in punt coverage as a highlight of the last game. The tone was certainly optimistic in the lead-up to Saturday, which will be a chance for Ivey to close the deal for a team that loathes cutting draft picks.

“Still a ways to go but both DJs have shown they can cover,” Anarumo said, also referencing second-round pick DJ Turner, set as the fourth corner. “They still got things they have to clean up in their game but in terms of the young guys those guys have done well.”

Future: The lean would be toward Ivey with Jones’ injury not helping matters as he endured his share of rough moments in preseason games. Still, Jones is a more proven quantity with reps in the league. But the final corner position won’t be asked to play much. It’s more geared toward special teams and future development, both in Ivey’s favor. Finally, Ivey’s extreme length could eventually turn into an answer to the vacated Tre Flowers role of covering tight ends.

(Top photo of Stanley Morgan: Kareem Elgazzar / USA Today)

“The Football 100,” the definitive ranking of the NFL’s best 100 players of all time, goes on sale this fall. Pre-order it here.

ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57k3FnbHFoZXxzfJFsZmlwX2eCcK7Ep56apKNir7auwaWcZm1jYrqiuoyrpqyslad8

 Share!