Training camp and the preseason games finish this weekend and rosters are soon to be set. The Cincinnati Bengals finished the preseason with a perfect record, the first winning preseason under Zac Taylor. With NFL cutdown day being this Sunday, August 30th, the Cincinnati Bengals are in a good but difficult position. Cutdown day is the day that teams have to trim their rosters to the league mandated, 53 players. As with every team in the league, there are a lot of players competing for spots on the Bengals 53-man roster. While there are many players who are locked into spots, with some being towards the top of the league at their position, there are others who are fighting for their playing careers. The offseason was one that saw the Bengals front office go out and spend the money, including making a shocking trade to bolster the defense. The Bengals defense was a unit that kept the team from making the playoffs over the last few seasons. As we know, the Bengals offense is loaded and now they have a defense that should be incredibly better than the one we saw over the last few years. Going into the 2026 season, it is believed that this could be the best Bengals team that we have seen in many years. With that being the case, let’s take a look at the names who are fighting to move forward with the team this season.

Here is the roster projection from Chris Asbrock with ISC.

QUARTERBACK (2)

Starter: Joe Burrow

Backup: Joe Flacco, Josh Johnson (Practice squad)

This is an obvious one, Joe Burrow is on the best quarterbacks in the NFL, so he will not be challenged at all for the starting spot. Last season, the Bengals traded for former Super Bowl MVP, Joe Flacco. Flacco stepped in and played admirably in the wake of Burrow’s injury absence. God forbid something were to happen to Burrow, the Bengals are in good shape with Joe Flacco as a backup.

RUNNING BACK (3)

Starter: Chase Brown

Backups: Samaje Perine, Tahj Brooks

Just like last season, the running back room is a 3-man group. Chase Brown remains one of the better backfield options in the league and is multi-faceted coming out the backfield. With Samaje Perine and Tahj Brooks back as well, the Bengals are in a good spot depth wise.

WIDE RECEIVER (6)

Starters: Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Andrei Iosivas

Backups: Mitchell Tinsley, Dohnte Meyers, Colbie Young

Bubble: Charlie Jones, Ke’Shawn Williams, Jordan Moore

The Bengals have the best wide receiver duo in the league. Ja’Marr Chase is the best receiver in football and Tee Higgins is the best number two in the league. When healthy, these two are a nightmare for opposing defenses. Andrei Iosivas is once again listed as the number three receiver but the fourth option behind TE Mike Gesicki. There are many options to round out the wide receiver room. The biggest battle seems to be between Mitchell Tinsley and returner Ke’Shawn Williams. Tinsley emerged last season as a solid player, who was consistently making spectacular catches. On the flip side of that, Williams brings the special teams returner aspect to the table. Williams is the more explosive returner on the roster so that plays heavy into this battle. This training camp, Dohnte Moore and Colbie Young have been fantastic and put themselves in a great spot to make this roster. Charlie Jones has been a key part of the roster, as a returner, over the last few years. This year, Jones is fighting for his Bengals life but his injury history and Ke’Shawn Williams might be too much to overcome.

TIGHT END (5)

Starters: Mike Gesicki, Drew Sample

Backups: Erick All, Tanner Hudson, Jack Endries

Bubble: Cam Grandy

The tight end room is an interesting battle to watch as well. Mike Gesicki is listed as a tight end but is used primarily as a wide receiver. Drew Sample isn’t going anywhere and the Bengals absolutely love Erick All. All is a jack of all trades at the tight end spot and now that he is healthy, he should be heavily featured in the offense. The major wild card in this is Jack Endries. Endries has done a lot this camp and is liked by the coaches and organization. With that being the case, the feeling is, if he is on the practice squad, he would get plucked by another team. Therefore, it would be a more likely situation that he is on the 53 man but a gameday scratch.

OFFENSIVE LINE (9)

Starters: T Orlando Brown, G Dylan Fairchild, C Ted Karras, G Dalton Risner, T Amarius Mims

Backups: Jalen Rivers, Connor Lew, Brian Parker II, Javon Foster

Bubble: Jacob Bayer, Liam Brown, Christian Jones

The Bengals get criticized every year for their offensive line. The last few years, the criticism has been unfair. The Bengals have spent the money to upgrade their line. The starters are locks and the backups are set. The main question is the backup swing tackle position. Javon Foster is that guy for now but it is certain the Bengals will be looking at the waiver wire and trade market for a swing tackle. Aside from the swing tackle spot, the Bengals are in a fantastic spot.

DEFENSIVE LINE (10)

Starters: DE Myles Murphy, DE Boye Mafe, DT Jonathan Allen, DT Dexter Lawrence II,

Backups: DE Cashius Howell, DE Shemar Stewart (on IR), DT B.J. Hill, DT Landon Robinson, DT T.J. Slaton, DT Kris Jenkins, DE Cedrick Johnson

Bubble: Isaiah Foskey, Howard Cross III, McKinley Jackson

Last season, the defensive line was an issue. Trey Hendrickson and his whiney attitude has packed up and gone to Baltimore. The Bengals went out and massively upgraded with a total alpha in Dexter Lawrence and studs in Jonathan Allen and Boye Mafe. Myles Murphy has looked really good this camp. Rookie second round pick Cashius Howell has been incredibly impressive. There are so many options that Defensive Coordinator Al Golden has at his disposal when it comes to handling this line. Having a 3 tackle base with Mafe and Murphy on the outside is an option. Another thing to consider is when Shemar Stewart comes back off IR in October. Stewart has flashed moments of brilliance and with the abundance of talent on the line, the pressure is not on Stewart to be an all-pro. There is a potential the Bengals could move on from Kris Jenkins via trade. That is one thing to continue to watch as the next few days play out.

LINEBACKER (5)

Starters: Barrett Carter, Demetrius Knight

Backups: Oren Burks, Swayze Bozeman, Shaka Heyward

Bubble: Joe Giles-Harris

Last season, the linebacker position was one of the major problems for the defense. Granted, it was not fair at all to put all the blame on them. They were set up to fail, being rookies thrust into starting roles and having a less than par defensive line. The biggest jump is from year one to year two. During camp, Carter and Knight vastly improved from last season and are locks to start. Having Burks and Heyward as backups give them the veteran presence behind them. Swayze Bozeman has impressed this camp and preseason, giving him a nod to be on the roster. The battle for the final spot would be between Joe Giles-Harris and Heyward. Giles-Harris provides more special teams value but Heyward provides more veteran qualities. This would be a total toss up.

SECONDARY (10)

Starters: CB DJ Turner II, CB DJ Ivey, CB Dax Hill, S Bryan Cook, S Jordan Battle

Backups: CB Jalen Davis, CB Ja’Sir Taylor, CB Tacario Davis, S Kyle Dugger, S PJ Jules

Bubble: CB Josh Newton, CB Bralyn Lux, S Russ Yeast

The back end of the defense is another virtual lock with the starters and backups as set in stone. In the case of the secondary, there would really be only one position battle. That is between Josh Newton and Ja’Sir Taylor. Newton had a rough camp to start and came into training camp in the proverbial doghouse. Taylor offers more than Newton does, especially on special teams. Newton will be a certain candidate for the practice squad since Taylor will be the one who makes it.

SPECIALISTS (3)

Starter: Ryan Rehkow (P), Evan McPherson (K), William Wagner (LS)

There is nothing to say here. Same operation as last season.

With Joe Burrow at quarterback, the Cincinnati Bengals will continually be one of the favorites to come out of the AFC and this years roster certainly helps that. Depth is an incredibly important aspect of every team and some teams are in better shape than others. This years Bengals team is better suited, depth-wise, than in years past. Burrow said earlier this offseason that this team reminds him a lot of the 2019 LSU team that won the National Championship. That is a great comparison and hopefully a nice omen for how this season will play out. The organization has done an incredible job of building the roster and securing many of the top talents looking for new contracts. A vastly upgraded defense combined with this high-powered offense, a Lombardi Trophy is well within reach for this organization.

Chris Asbrock and Impact Sports Cincinnati can be followed on Twitter  Follow @iamchrisasbrock and Follow @ISCincy