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4 games in Roster Today and for 2025


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Quarterback

QB Burrow 29 Browning 26

Burrow is on pace for a 4000+ yard year and has generally been solid. He's 10th in PFF grade. There is room for improvement but he's solid as they come. Browning hasn't played yet and let's hope it's just mop up. 

 

2025 Outlook

QB Burrow 29 Browning 26 Woodside

This is the most settled position on the team. Burrow and Browning will both be back in their respective spots. Woodside should land back as a camp arm and possibly eventually as a backup. They will add a yet-to-be-known 4th arm. Maybe Rocky Lombardi should get some run with the Michigan Panthers again. 

 

Running Back

RB Moss 26 Brown 27 Williams 25

Moss (187 yards rushing, 15 catches) and Brown (184 yards rushing, 9 catches) have been the perfect 1-2 punch. Williams has 62 snaps on teams but hasn't been great as a return guy. I wouldn't mind them finding a more dynamic back/returner for special teams. 

 

2025 Outlook

RB Moss 26 Brown 27 Williams 25 Milton

I expect this unit to be back the same in 2025. Williams is likely back on another 1-year deal. Back to the rotation at RB. For camp Milton and then probably 2 other rookie free agents. Milton is more Moss than Brown. It would be nice to get another big play guy.  

 

Wide Receiver

WR Chase 26 Burton 28
WR Higgins 25 Irwin 25
WR Iosivas 27 Jones 27

Chase-Higgins and Yoshi have been solid starters. Burton and Jones haven't provided much but they haven't been asked to do much either. Irwin has been inactive the last two games after struggling week 2. 

 

2025 Outlook

WR Chase 26 Burton 28 Burgess
WR Iosivas 27   Pryor
WR   Jones 27  

With Higgins gone Yoshi probably moves outside. There is hope that Burton can show enough in the next 13 weeks that we can count on him as a starter. Smaller but similar hope for Jones. Likely 2 spots open this offseason in the 6 man group. Burgess and Pryor should be around for camp. I would like to see them bring back Shed Jackson as well. 

 

Tight End

TE Gesicki 25 Sample 27 Hudson 25 All 28 McClachlan 28

We have played 2 TE more than any other team this year. Mostly a blend of All-Gesicki and Sample after Hudson's injury.

 

2025 Outlook

TE Gesicki 25 Sample 27 All 28 McClachlan 28 Grandy

 

All is the future here. It would be nice if Gesicki hangs around next year but I am not sure we get up to his price should his current pace lead to a market. Hudson probably is gone but if Gesicki leaves he could be a cheap alternative. Grandy will be in camp after a nice preseason. 

 

Offensive Line

LT Brown 27  
LG Volson 26 Kirkland
C Karras 26 Lee 28
RG Cappa 26 Ford 25
RT Mims 29  

The line played really well last week but the Panthers pass rush is terrible. Ford played 16 snaps against the, all in big packages. Once the DL is settled it would be great to get a young T for an eventual future swing guy. I don't think that's Cochran. 

 

2025 Outlook

LT Brown 27    
LG Volson 26 Kirkland Manning
C Karras 26 Lee 28 Hill
RGH Cappa 26 Ford 25  
RT Mims 29   Cochran

I assume the top 8 are back. Manning is the only practice squader with upside. A swing tackle will be important to add.  Hill and Cochran are guys I'd expect back for camp as well. I'd imagine Trent Brown might be done with his career. Dante Smith probably a goner

 

Special Teams

K McPherson 28
P Rehkow 27
LS Adomitis 25

Rehkow hasn't punted much but he seems to have won that job. Glad they didn't rest on the other UDFA they signed and Robbins

 

2025 Outlook

K McPherson 28
P Rehkow 27
LS Adomitis 25

Adomitis is restricted so he will be back. This young group should grow together. I assume they will sign some sort of kicker for the summer to just make sure they don't tire out their kickers. 

 

Defensive Line

LE Hubbard 26 Johnson 28  
LT Hill 25 Tufele 25 Jenkins 28
RT Rankins 26 Carter 26 Guy 25
RE Hendrickson 26 Ossai 25  

Pretty huge mess here with one healthy capable starter. Jenkins has looked good and should be an impactful starter at tackle. This could be aggressively different. even in 2 weeks. Murphy and Jackson will be back and Jenkins will be healthy. I think that we will see alot more of Hubbard at the DT spot. I'm hoping that Ced Johnson flashes something by seasons end. 

 

2025 Outlook

LE Murphy 27 Hubbard 26 Johnson 28 Thomas
LT Jenkins 28 Jackson 28 Tufele 25 Rogers
RT Rankins 26   Carter 26 Davis
RE Hendrickson 26   Henry  

The team saves 9.2 Million by cutting Hubbard. I think they go the Joe Mixon route and rework his deal instead. There is usually a capable pass rushing veteran available when the music stops in free agency. If all you ask them to do is rotational pass rush they come cheaper as well. I'd like to see them actually do that this year. Finally, if Hill isn't back I hope they invest another early pick along the DT group. I am in the minoirty in that I am a Tufele fan and think he's actually playing well. He's active and I see him in the backfield often. Hendrickson might get an extension. He deserves it. The Ossai experiment is probably over. 

 

Linebacker

WLB Pratt 26 Davis-Gaither 25  
MLB Wilson 28 Bachie 25 Njongmeta 27

The LB group is solid. I can't believe ADG doesn't have a starting job somewhere. 

 

2025 Outlook

WLB Pratt 26 Bachie 25 Heyward
MLB Wilson 28 Njongmeta 27  

I am going to assume Bachie is back and that ADG is gone. I assumed ADG would be gone last year and he's back so who knows. I'd welcome him back. I think Njongmeta and Heyward are ready for bigger roles as well. 

 

Safety

S Bell 25 Battle 27  
S Stone 26 Anderson 26 Anthony 28

I'm lost here. I assume Bell and Stone are improvements but they seem pretty meh. I'd like to see Battle play more. 

 

2025 Outlook

S Battle 27 Bell 25 Jules
S Stone 26 Anderson 26 Anthony 28

I'd hope Battle takes over the SS spot next year but I'd love to keep Bell around. Jules flashed athleticism. It would be interesting to see what Anthony could do with more time. 

 

Cornerback

CB Taylor-Britt 26 Newton 28
CB Hill 27 Turner 27
NB Hilton 25  

CTB is normally good so I will give him one bad game. Hill has shown a ton of growth at corner. Turner played well last game. I expect a rotation to continue. Newton replaced Hilton when he went down for a couple plays. 

 

2025 Outlook

CB Taylor-Britt 26 Turner 27 Brooks
CB Hill 27 Ivey 27  
NB Newton 28 Robinson 28 Davis

I assume this is the last season for Hilton as he might be losing a step. Newton or Turner slide into the Nickel spot.  I think they will welcome Davis back to the top 5 next year. Ivey is a big question mark. He will be back off PUP soon and they don't have a spot for him. 

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Bengals probably need to blow up the defense this offseason. Compared to 2021, we have some of the same guys but who are older and slower (Hubbard, Hilton, Bell), let the better players leave without equal replacements (Reader, Bates), and have replaced guys like Awuzie and Apple with younger players who haven't reached their level yet. We basically have 1 player on defense who is among the 10 best in the league at his position (Hendrickson). And several others who are among the 10 worst at theirs. 

 

Ravens are probably licking their chops this week, especially if Hendrickson misses the game. We're easy to run on with weak DTs and not very physical LBs but also easy to pass against with not much pass rush and no CB1 who can take away a side of the field. When a team like Carolina with not much at QB and WR is targeting your so-called top CB over and over, it's bad. 

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1 minute ago, sparky151 said:

Bengals probably need to blow up the defense this offseason. Compared to 2021, we have some of the same guys but who are older and slower (Hubbard, Hilton, Bell), let the better players leave without equal replacements (Reader, Bates), and have replaced guys like Awuzie and Apple with younger players who haven't reached their level yet. We basically have 1 player on defense who is among the 10 best in the league at his position (Hendrickson). And several others who are among the 10 worst at theirs. 

 

Ravens are probably licking their chops this week, especially if Hendrickson misses the game. We're easy to run on with weak DTs and not very physical LBs but also easy to pass against with not much pass rush and no CB1 who can take away a side of the field. When a team like Carolina with not much at QB and WR is targeting your so-called top CB over and over, it's bad. 

 

I think they have a lot of the pieces. But it is clearly not working. The below I think would all be back at least for camp. 

 

LE Murphy 27 Hubbard 26  
LT   Jackson 28 Thomas
RT Rankins 26 Jenkins 28 Davis
RE Hendrickson 26 Johnson 28 Rogers
WLB Pratt 26 Njongmeta 27  
MLB Wilson 28 Heyward  
S   Battle 27 Jules
S   Anderson 26 Anthony 28
CB Taylor-Britt 26 Turner 27 Brooks
CB Hill 27    
NB   Newton 28 Davis
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7 minutes ago, sparky151 said:

Bengals probably need to blow up the defense this offseason. Compared to 2021, we have some of the same guys but who are older and slower (Hubbard, Hilton, Bell), let the better players leave without equal replacements (Reader, Bates), and have replaced guys like Awuzie and Apple with younger players who haven't reached their level yet. We basically have 1 player on defense who is among the 10 best in the league at his position (Hendrickson). And several others who are among the 10 worst at theirs. 

 

Ravens are probably licking their chops this week, especially if Hendrickson misses the game. We're easy to run on with weak DTs and not very physical LBs but also easy to pass against with not much pass rush and no CB1 who can take away a side of the field. When a team like Carolina with not much at QB and WR is targeting your so-called top CB over and over, it's bad. 

 

 

A bad DL and poor tackling in the back 7 vs a RB taking direct snaps while wearing a QB halo from the refs is indeed a bad combination.  I think he was something like 16/122 rushing last week?  Very tempting to say to hell with the inevitable flags and treat him like a RB as soon as he crosses the line of scrimmage.  Penalties may cost us the game but it'll put a stop to the nonsense. 

 

His whole career is basically a rules exploit but this current Bengals defense probably doesn't have anyone that can contain him.

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Not sure they have a lot of the pieces. Hendrickson will be going into the final year of his contract. Otherwise the DL is bad. When Murphy returns, I'd make him the starter and let Hubbard sit and heal. Rankins and Hill are supposed to provide interior pass rush but they haven't done much, nor has Carter. Jackson and Jenkins are supposed to be run stoppers and there's still time for them to show something but they're certainly not established yet. 

 

Our top 3 LBs are all pass defense specialists. That's fine if teams can't run against us but that didn't hold true last year and hasn't thus far this year. When the Patriots are able to run it down our throats and we're helpless to stop it, we suck.

 

I'll guess Dax Hill moves again next year to the slot CB spot post-Hilton. We need to add some talent to the CB room. Newton might turn into a good backup CB but isn't going to push Hill or Turner or CTB to the bench. Stone will probably be starting again next year ahead of Anthony. Battle should be the starting strong safety. 

 

We should probably cut Hubbard and Rankins and take the 19 mil and spend it on a top DL, either inside or edge. 

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7 hours ago, sparky151 said:

Bengals probably need to blow up the defense this offseason. Compared to 2021, we have some of the same guys but who are older and slower (Hubbard, Hilton, Bell), let the better players leave without equal replacements (Reader, Bates), and have replaced guys like Awuzie and Apple with younger players who haven't reached their level yet. We basically have 1 player on defense who is among the 10 best in the league at his position (Hendrickson). And several others who are among the 10 worst at theirs. 

 

Ravens are probably licking their chops this week, especially if Hendrickson misses the game. We're easy to run on with weak DTs and not very physical LBs but also easy to pass against with not much pass rush and no CB1 who can take away a side of the field. When a team like Carolina with not much at QB and WR is targeting your so-called top CB over and over, it's bad. 

 

this is an overreaction. 

 

so 50% of the DL is OUT all together, they played 1.5 games. Hubbards been hurt all year. And backups have been out all year also, including 2 high end draft picks, so wtf are you even judging on the DL? 1 healthy (until now) starter who has been a menace, tops in the league, Hilton hasnt been bad, CTB started solid had a few blunders but nothing to write off, Hill has been up and down but is young, talented and made some great plays also. LB's are fine. 

 

Not sure how someone judges the secondary when the line can get pressure due to injuries literally through the entire depth chart.

 

this is ridiculous, you have solid veterans and young high value picks coming in within a few weeks to help depth. hell one handed first game in rookie jammed the line on a 4th down stand, he has played like 8 minutes in the NFL and made a HUGE impact.

 

no no no yea time to blow it up... wtf

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13 hours ago, GoBengals said:

 

this is an overreaction. 

 

so 50% of the DL is OUT all together, they played 1.5 games. Hubbards been hurt all year. And backups have been out all year also, including 2 high end draft picks, so wtf are you even judging on the DL? 1 healthy (until now) starter who has been a menace, tops in the league, Hilton hasnt been bad, CTB started solid had a few blunders but nothing to write off, Hill has been up and down but is young, talented and made some great plays also. LB's are fine. 

 

Not sure how someone judges the secondary when the line can get pressure due to injuries literally through the entire depth chart.

 

this is ridiculous, you have solid veterans and young high value picks coming in within a few weeks to help depth. hell one handed first game in rookie jammed the line on a 4th down stand, he has played like 8 minutes in the NFL and made a HUGE impact.

 

no no no yea time to blow it up... wtf

I agree with this assessment and would add that the reason (from a previous post) that are LB's are more passing specialists is because it is a passing league. Most teams lean this way.

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On 10/1/2024 at 4:38 PM, MichaelWeston said:

Cut Rankins? Huh

 

Yes, he's scheduled to count 11.5 on the cap next year but we get 9.5 back if he's cut. We wouldn't have to make a decision until after we've seen free agency and the draft. The reason would be that Rankins is a 3T, billed as generating interior pass rush. Nobody pretends he's good vs the run. But in his limited time, he hasn't played well for the Bengals, getting pushed around. Basically, he hasn't made a case to be kept when there are plenty of other vets better than him. Bengals put him on the field in the spot Reader used to play. Rankins makes more than Reader but isn't as good.

 

On 10/1/2024 at 5:33 PM, T-Dub said:

 

 

Yeah we need the roster space for the other up & coming DT Namey McSomeguy, future HoF All-Pro & Olympic gold medal breakdancer

 

Well, we would have flexibility. If the team can't find a better player, they can keep Rankins. But he's looked like an expensive backup caliber player in the little we've seen of him.

 

On 10/1/2024 at 11:17 PM, GoBengals said:

 

this is an overreaction. 

 

so 50% of the DL is OUT all together, they played 1.5 games. Hubbards been hurt all year. And backups have been out all year also, including 2 high end draft picks, so wtf are you even judging on the DL? 1 healthy (until now) starter who has been a menace, tops in the league, Hilton hasnt been bad, CTB started solid had a few blunders but nothing to write off, Hill has been up and down but is young, talented and made some great plays also. LB's are fine. 

 

Not sure how someone judges the secondary when the line can get pressure due to injuries literally through the entire depth chart.

 

this is ridiculous, you have solid veterans and young high value picks coming in within a few weeks to help depth. hell one handed first game in rookie jammed the line on a 4th down stand, he has played like 8 minutes in the NFL and made a HUGE impact.

 

no no no yea time to blow it up... wtf

 

Not really. The injuries just exaggerate the impact but even if healthy we haven't fixed last year's problems. 

 

23 hours ago, I_C_Deadpeople said:

I agree with this assessment and would add that the reason (from a previous post) that are LB's are more passing specialists is because it is a passing league. Most teams lean this way.

 

Most NFL teams start 3 or 4 LBs and are much better than us at run defense. Our D-line isn't very good at run defense. Reader and a healthy Hubbard were the keys to that. Hill was average and Hendrickson below average vs the run. Halfspeed Hubbard and Rankins can't get the job done and 2 pass defense LBs don't help. 

 

Let's revisit this after Sunday's game. It's basically a must-win if we want to entertain playoff hopes. But we don't pose much of a challenge for the Ravens offense.

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8 minutes ago, Jamie_B said:

Hill isnt on the roster next year. Jenkins you would assume would take his place. Jackson hasnt even take a snap yet.

 

Even if we take a DT with the 1st round pick there is little likelihood Rankins is getting cut.

If Rankins plays poorly then cutting him to save 9.5 of the 11.5 owed him seems logical.

 

Bengals aren't paying a mediocre DT 

11.5  as a backup.

 

Let's see how the season goes for him.

 

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2 minutes ago, claptonrocks said:

If Rankins plays poorly then cutting him to save 9.5 of the 11.5 owed him seems logical.

 

Bengals aren't paying a mediocre DT 

11.5  as a backup.

 

Let's see how the season goes for him.

 

 

 

They also are not very likely to start a rookie right away. 

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Rankins and Hill basically play the same position. Hill will be gone but even if Rankins returns, they may prefer Jenkins there. Jackson (and Rogers from the PS) are the only true NTs on the roster. The team would be better off signing a big strong vet to start or provide depth along with Jackson. Using 3Ts as run stoppers doesn't work. Backing them up with only a pair of pass defending specialist LBs just makes it worse. It's hard to run the ball consistently in the NFL so taking away opponent's running games shouldn't be too hard. But the Bengals have made it so, mostly intentionally. It's just insult to injury that we're also bad at pass defense. 

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On 10/3/2024 at 12:04 PM, sparky151 said:

 

Yes, he's scheduled to count 11.5 on the cap next year but we get 9.5 back if he's cut. We wouldn't have to make a decision until after we've seen free agency and the draft. The reason would be that Rankins is a 3T, billed as generating interior pass rush. Nobody pretends he's good vs the run. But in his limited time, he hasn't played well for the Bengals, getting pushed around. Basically, he hasn't made a case to be kept when there are plenty of other vets better than him. Bengals put him on the field in the spot Reader used to play. Rankins makes more than Reader but isn't as good.

 

 

Well, we would have flexibility. If the team can't find a better player, they can keep Rankins. But he's looked like an expensive backup caliber player in the little we've seen of him.

 

 

Not really. The injuries just exaggerate the impact but even if healthy we haven't fixed last year's problems. 

 

 

Most NFL teams start 3 or 4 LBs and are much better than us at run defense. Our D-line isn't very good at run defense. Reader and a healthy Hubbard were the keys to that. Hill was average and Hendrickson below average vs the run. Halfspeed Hubbard and Rankins can't get the job done and 2 pass defense LBs don't help. 

 

Let's revisit this after Sunday's game. It's basically a must-win if we want to entertain playoff hopes. But we don't pose much of a challenge for the Ravens offense.

 

I doubt anyone was surprised we gave up 41 points though our run defense was probably better than expected during regulation. But we still have lots of holes on defense and losing Dax doesn't help. For next year we'll need to go on another free agent spree and reallocate Tee's cap space to the defense. Then probably use a couple of early draft picks there too. It would be nice if we had reason to have confidence in Tobin or whoever makes the personnel decisions. 

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19 hours ago, sparky151 said:

 

I doubt anyone was surprised we gave up 41 points though our run defense was probably better than expected during regulation. But we still have lots of holes on defense and losing Dax doesn't help. For next year we'll need to go on another free agent spree and reallocate Tee's cap space to the defense. Then probably use a couple of early draft picks there too. It would be nice if we had reason to have confidence in Tobin or whoever makes the personnel decisions. 

Other than OL, there is no reason to focus on any other offensive position in the next draft (maybe WR) but certainly not TE, QB, RB. We could easily get a good WR in FA to help Button and Yoshi. 
 

OL and defence for me in the draft. 

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For the OL, Cappa, Karas, and Volson will be in the final year of their contracts in 2025. We should get a look at Lee at some point to see if he's a worthy replacement for Mayor Ted. We can find good interior O-linemen in rounds 3-5, especially if we're drafting early in the round. Whether Pollack can get the maximum from them is another story.

 

At the moment, we would have the 2nd overall draft pick. I don't think we'll draft that high, either because the team won more games over the remainder of the season than our fellow dregs or because if we did finish there, we'd probably trade down with a team looking for a QB. If we do stay in the top 5, Mason Graham might be the best fit for us. He's an active guy, basically a 3T at 310 lbs. He'd be an upgrade from Hill or Rankins. But we probably expect Jenkins to play there. If we move on from Hubbard, Murphy would be the obvious replacement with Hendrickson also going into his final season in 2025. So DE, maybe James Pearce would be an option. Or CB.

 

 

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4 hours ago, I_C_Deadpeople said:

Other than OL, there is no reason to focus on any other offensive position in the next draft (maybe WR) but certainly not TE, QB, RB. We could easily get a good WR in FA to help Button and Yoshi. 
 

OL and defence for me in the draft. 

We have to get Burton on the field and into the game plan somehow.  The guy is an enigma.

 

 

3 hours ago, sparky151 said:

For the OL, Cappa, Karas, and Volson will be in the final year of their contracts in 2025. We should get a look at Lee at some point to see if he's a worthy replacement for Mayor Ted. We can find good interior O-linemen in rounds 3-5, especially if we're drafting early in the round. Whether Pollack can get the maximum from them is another story.

 

At the moment, we would have the 2nd overall draft pick. I don't think we'll draft that high, either because the team won more games over the remainder of the season than our fellow dregs or because if we did finish there, we'd probably trade down with a team looking for a QB. If we do stay in the top 5, Mason Graham might be the best fit for us. He's an active guy, basically a 3T at 310 lbs. He'd be an upgrade from Hill or Rankins. But we probably expect Jenkins to play there. If we move on from Hubbard, Murphy would be the obvious replacement with Hendrickson also going into his final season in 2025. So DE, maybe James Pearce would be an option. Or CB.

 

 

I thought Matt Lee was the next in line for Center.

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2 hours ago, High School Harry said:

We have to get Burton on the field and into the game plan somehow.

 

 

Why?  They're scoring 30+ a game, Chase & Higgins are killing it, Yoshi & the TE's have been clutch when those 2 aren't open. 

 

Unless Burton gained 150lb and is lining up at DT now he's not going to change anything.

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