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Saturday, Sep 01, 2018 02:37 PM

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Bengals keep Tate, Schreck and Tupou, but roster in flux

 

Hobson_Geoff

Geoff Hobson

SENIOR WRITER

 
 

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Auden Tate practices before an NFL preseason football game, Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Frank Victores)

Frank Victores/Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Auden Tate survived the first sprint, but the Bengals roster is still unsettled.

The Bengals came out of Saturday’s cut even younger than last year, but for how long as they continue to adjust the roster through the weekend and eye finalizing it Sunday preparation for the Sept. 9 opener (Cincinnati’s Channel 12, 1 p.m.) in Indianapolis.

The Bengals had to cut to 53 players by 4 p.m. Saturday, but a spate of injuries is apparently going to force them to re-adjust the roster by 4 p.m. Sunday. Two players who missed the last two games with injuries, wide receiver Cody Core (back) and rookie cornerback Davontae Harris (knee) both made it but may be candidates to go on injured reserve Sunday so they can be eligible for recall midway through the season.

Also complicating things were three players sent to season-long injured reserve after getting hurt in Thursday night’s pre-season finale: H-back Cethan Carter (shoulder), rookie safety Trayvon Henderson (knee) and quarterback Matt Barkley (knee).

They released a trio of long-time veterans Saturday, headed by right end Michael Johnson, but as the dust clears from potential moves ranging from waiver claims to IR classifications, the Bengals can approach those vets Sunday to re-sign them. Players with three years or less of experience are subject to waivers, but Johnson, H-Back Ryan Hewitt and back-up center-guard T.J. Johnson are free agents.

Michael Johnson, 31, has the most Bengals games on defense with 126 and has started for three AFC North champions. But Johnson, Hewitt and T.J. Johnson are eligible to re-sign with the Bengals or sign elsewhere starting 4 p.m. Sunday.

 

If the current roster goes to press in Indianapolis, it is even younger than last year, when head coach Marvin Lewis had his youngest group in 15 Opening Days at 25.45. This one is at 25.22 with the average NFL experience at 3.72 years, down from last year’s 3.75. But hold on to your calculators. The roster isn’t set because of the injury juggling as the Bengals scan the waiver wire of the biggest cut down in NFL history. It is the first time there hasn’t been a mandatory cut before final cuts.

With Core questionable, it forced them to go with a seventh wide receiver in rookie Auden Tate. With Harris questionable, it forced them to go with five “healthy,” cornerbacks, with rookie Darius Phillips and slot man Tony McRae backing up the first three of William Jackson, Dre Kirkpatrick and Darqueze Dennard. Even McRae missed three of the four pre-season games with an ankle injury, so both positions are in flux.

Sophomore tight end Mason Schreck making the club instead of Hewitt seems to represent a philosophical change. With Hewitt gone and Carter on IR, there are no more H-backs listed on the roster, just four tight ends.

Feeling they needed at least one back-up nose tackle, the Bengals opted for sophomore Josh Tupou and waived fifth-round pick Andrew Brown. But there still could be moves made here since the Bengals usually keep at least nine defensive linemen and this leaves them with only eight.

 

https://www.bengals.com/news/bengals-keep-tate-schreck-and-tupou-but-roster-in-flux

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Not a ton of surprises here. The writing was on the wall with MJ and Hewitt, but I am a  little surprised they cut Andrew Brown and Shaw.  They also do not have a backup center with TJ Johnson being cut.  Hobson mentioned that Harris and Core will likely be placed on IR by Sunday with the possibility to return later.  I fully expect several more moves to be made, specifically at o-line and in the secondary.  Adding another d-linemen is also possible.

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31 minutes ago, fluhartz said:

i would take a 52 man roster over him...he's that worthless 

 

Can't believe they're willing to pay him one more dollar than they absolutely had to by contract.  In his case it's dead money regardless of whether or not he's on the roster. I see a bunch of OT's that were waived by other teams today.  Sure they probably all stink but at least it would be a different stink.  

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12 minutes ago, T-Dub said:

 

Can't believe they're willing to pay him one more dollar than they absolutely had to by contract.  In his case it's dead money regardless of whether or not he's on the roster. I see a bunch of OT's that were waived by other teams today.  Sure they probably all stink but at least it would be a different stink.  

right...

 

I mean he was literally getting beat by guys that are going to be selling insurance or something the other night... 

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3 minutes ago, fluhartz said:

right...

 

I mean he was literally getting beat by guys that are going to be selling insurance or something the other night... 

 

Nah, he would've had to have been trying before in order get beat.   He was barely participating, it was never a contest.

 

No fucking way I'd have paid him a roster bonus.  Change the locks and tell him pick his shit up on the curb.

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1 hour ago, Jamie_B said:

Bit of a surprise. 

 

I expected it, they'd hardly used the guy the last couple of years. Carter was supposed to take that spot & they will probably use another TE as a lead blocker if they ever accidentally call the wrong play and try to do the smashmouth football thing.  With this OL it's probably not going to come up often, power runs might as well be Cantonese in this system. It's all 3-step drops and hope the DB's can't cover, 30-40 attempts a game & neither rain nor snow nor 50 mph winds can change their minds.  I think either Marvin or ol' Musty have a hard on for H-backs because they've been trying to find one since Kelly.  Considering the position seems like a complete anachronism in the modern NFL I'm gonna blame the Redeemer.  

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