2026 53-man roster and practice squad

[Stripes]

Charlie Jones released per Rappaport.

[Stripes]

Mitch Tinsley released per Charlie Clifford of NBC 5.

[Stripes]

Landon Robinson made the team per Jordan Schultz and Clifford.

[Stripes]

Dohnte Meyers made the team per Ben Baby, if anyone still had doubts.

[Stripes]

McKinnley Jackson released per Rappaport. No trade, I guess.

[Stripes]

Shaka Heyward released per Clifford.

The Big Red Dog has all the scoops today.

[Stripes]

Also released/waived per John Sheeran's tracker:

Josh Johnson
Jordan Moore
Josh Kattus
Andrew Coker
Isaiah Foskey**
Jack Dingle
Bralyn Lux
Howard Cross
Russ Yeast
Cam Grandy

**Mildly surprising

Lots of practice squad hopefuls, I'm sure.

https://atozsports.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals-news/bengals-roster-cuts-tracker-2026-cincinnati-begins-final-path-to-53-man-roster/

Warning: opening this website might give your PC cyclospora diarrhea.

[HoosierCat]

Charlie Jones is a bit surprising but otherwise nothing really unexpected so far. Thanks for the updates stripes.

On a separate note I give Coyote v Acme 3/5 anvils. Thumbs up for classic cartoon violence!

[Stripes]

Dehner confirms Ke’Shawn Williams is in. That sets up the six WRs:

Chase, Higgins, Iosivas, Meyers, Young, and Williams

Williams takes return duties. I’m surprised they chose him over Jones, but it shows they weren’t handing out roster spots by default. Good.

[COB]

I hate to see Mitch Tinsley go but Meyers forced his way into that receiver room and someone had to go.  Hopefully Tinsley won’t end up in the AFC North.  I can see the Chiefs grabbing him.  

[HoosierCat]

23 minutes ago, Stripes said:

McKinnley Jackson released per Rappaport. No trade, I guess.

Normally I’d say that means they want him back on the PS, but given how far down the depth chart he’s been shoved I’m not sure. Plus he asked for a trade last year. Dunno why he’d want to come back now. If they had an offer, even just a 7th they should have taken it.

[COB]

On a similar note, I don’t think Cody Ford found a home yet.  Couch until we get an injury?  Sorry, Army, it’s lining up that way!

[Stripes]

Jackson was such a bad draft pick. The worst pick of the Zac Taylor era has to be Jermaine Burton, but Jackson Carman and McKinnley Jackson battle over second place (Shemar Stewart TBD).

[HoosierCat]

Confirmed: Drew Sample remains a Bengal.

 

[ArmyBengal]

Surprised as well with no Chuck Sizzle but the sizzle was far to infrequent. Had next to no value as a WR.

[HoosierCat]

4 minutes ago, Stripes said:

Jackson was such a bad draft pick. The worst pick of the Zac Taylor era has to be Jermaine Burton, but Jackson Carman and McKinnley Jackson battle over second place (Shemar Stewart TBD).

Cordell Volson is available.

[Stripes]

Dehner says we have our TE room:

Gesicki, Sample, All, Hudson, Endries

[ArmyBengal]

5 TE’s ?? Seems a bit heavy handed but ok.

[ArmyBengal]

Haven’t seen anything to this point that has me screaming for the team to go get them.

Saw there was some interest in RB Kaleb Johnson if the Steelers released him but they ended up trading him to the Packers.

I would have been intrigued. They called him a bust but only gave the guy 28 carries all of last season.

Moving on…

[COB]

15 minutes ago, ArmyBengal said:

Haven’t seen anything to this point that has me screaming for the team to go get them.

Bill just cut Geno Stone.  

[Stripes]

https://www.cincyjungle.com/cincinnati-bengals-news/197558/cincinnati-bengals-53-man-roster-2026

Here it is.

Tahj Brooks made it. Meh

Jacob Bayer made it on the OL, and I believe Parker got hurt at the end of the last preseason game.

No major surprises on defense. Newton squeaked in. Jules over Anthony.

[Stripes]

Confirmed per Baby:

Brian Parker and Ja'Sir Taylor on IR, can return after four games.

[COB]

I forgot the league enlarged the practice squads.  I think we get 16 players now on the practice squad, ten guys in their first or second years BUT 6 guys can be veterans with unlimited experience.  We had pretty good depth this training camp, so even though we’ll try to stash guys I bet a couple will get snagged onto other rosters.  

[HoosierCat]

Dehner:

Quote

 

The Bengals, in recent years, have held onto a collection of talented, young players who struggled on and off the field to adjust to the NFL.

Players like Jermaine Burton, Daijahn Anthony, McKinnley Jackson and Cam Taylor-Britt. Even at the top of the roster, hanging on to Trey Hendrickson rather than dealing him in March.

A year later, the Bengals roster cutdown day is full of stories of players desperate to succeed in the NFL, with stories of overcoming adversity.

Dohnte Meyers, PJ Jules, Landon Robinson, Jacob Bayer and Swayze Bozeman are all defined by willing themselves onto this roster and seizing opportunity, despite odds being stacked against them.

Those are the types of players who build winning chemistry rather than tear it apart. There will be games this year when each of these players will be counted on to do a job or help a teammate do a job. There will be no doubt in their ability to do so or desire to do anything that helps the team win.

There were too many guys on this roster in recent years you couldn’t say that about, whether it be staying out of trouble off the field, maintaining conditioning, knowing the playbook or, you know, showing up for stuff.

 

This seems like a lesson they should have learned long ago but hey better late than never I guess.

 

[COB]

I was under the impression they had already learned that lesson.  Remember how they were drafting guys who were team captains, team first, blah blah blah.  I guess they blew that up with that idiot receiver we wasted a pick on.  
 

unrelated - just saw the Steelers 53.  They kept all 4 quarterbacks on the roster.  I don’t know if that’s unprecedented, but it seems like a lot of quarterbacks!  After watching Johnson play for us, I would not have complained if we’d rostered him somehow.  Like stash a TE on the practice squad.  It is easy to see Flacco getting injured.  I hope not but it’s a real possibility.