Pending a last minute acquisition or trade, the Cincinnati Bengals‘ 53-man roster is set. However, there’s still the issue of filling out the additional eight slots on the practice squad. Now, before your jaw locks from excessive, deep yawning, remember that being assigned to the practice squad is not a proverbial death sentence in terms of seeing playing time on Sunday afternoon.
In fact, with the Bengals electing to go into their Sept. 10 opener against the Baltimore Ravens with shallow depth at guard and quarterback, it’s entirely possible that the Cincinnati coaching staff could bump any one of these players up to the big boy depth chart should any more injuries occur.
The seven players added this afternoon are all Bengal cuts from yesterday, so none of them had to suffer pigskin limbo for very long. Here’s the official list:
QB Zac Robinson
RB Jourdan Brooks
RB Daniel Herron
OG Otis Hudson
OLB Emmanuel Lamur
CB Chris Lewis-Harris
LS Bryce Davis
As alluded to earlier, it’s not surprising to see Robinson or Hudson on this list, considering the lack of depth at their respective positions. Some may find the addition of Brooks and Herron overkill since that means Cincinnati now has seven tailbacks and seven receivers in their offensive arsenal while other positions don’t have half that depth.
Also, long snappers unite for Davis!
The obvious omission here is MLB Roddrick Muckelroy, but as I stated last night when the final cuts came in, Muckelroy is ineligible to join the Bengals’ practice squad.
While the exact reason is unclear, there are several rules that gauge a player’s eligibility. For example, players who have spent two years on the practice squad already or haven’t accrued at least one season of NFL experience (six regular season games) are deemed unable to sign to the practice squad.
Even with their seven additions today, the Bengals still have one spot available on the practice squad and it seems unlikely that they are reserving it for a former Bengal, so there is a strong possibility Cincinnati is pursuing a player waived by another team. It’s also possible that this player is being sought after by more teams than just the Bengals. Otherwise, this headline would certainly read eight instead of seven.
By all accounts, many sources expect no more activity from the Cincinnati front office tonight. However, earlier this afternoon, the first former Bengal was claimed by another team. Former tight end Collin Cochart was claimed by the Dallas Cowboys off waivers.
Still, it still remains to be seen whether Cincinnati will let their hair down and join the league’s waiver party.
Jonathan Porter is a writer for the Cincinnati Bengals and www.RantSports.com. Follow Jonathan on Twitter @RantSportsCincy.
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