Bengals sign former draft pick Freddie Brown to the practice squad

by Kirkendall on Nov 10, 2009 12:08 PM EST in Contracts Comment 8 comments

When the Bengals put Chris Henry on Injured Reserve, there was some speculation on what the team could do, which largely depended on what they wanted to do at wide receiver. Do they find a replacement? Do they restock the position after Andre Caldwell? Instead, they re-signed utility offensive lineman Scott Kooistra, giving the Bengals a full 53-man roster. Kooistra is expected to earn $620,000 in 2009.

However, with Henry out for the year, the Bengals felt there was enough of a shortage at the position that they signed former seventh round draft pick Freddie Brown to the practice squad. To make room, they released rookie tackle Gerald Cadogan. Here's a listing of the team's wide receivers under contract and not on IR (like Henry and Antonio Chatman):

Receiver	Roster	Notes
Chad Ochocinco	53-Man Roster	Bengals leading receiver with 44 receptions, 639 yards receiving and five touchdowns.
Laveranues Coles	53-Man Roster	Played in all eight games, caught 22 passes for 227 yards receiving. Tied for second on the team with three touchdowns receiving.
Andre Caldwell	53-Man Roster	Second on the team in most receiving categories. Caught two game winning touchdowns against the Baltimore Ravens (first time) and Pittsburgh Steelers.
Jerome Simpson	53-Man Roster	Yet to be activated in any game this season.
Quan Cosby	53-Man Roster	Primarily a punt returner. Average 12.4 yards-per-return ranks fifth in the NFL with ten punt returns or more.
Maurice Purify	Practice Squad	Caught four passes for 46 yards receiving during the 2009 preseason.
Freddie Brown	Practice Squad	Brown was the 11th pick by the Bengals in 2009 NFL draft, selected 43rd in the seventh round.

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Comments

Coffman

Hasn’t the knock on Coffman been that he more or less played as a WR in college? Why not throw him out there as a 4th WR? Maybe not a deep threat but still a big target. No roster moves required that way. Just a thought

by WhoooDeeey on Nov 10, 2009 12:49 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

RE:

That’s still a possibility. The team didn’t add another WR to the 53-man roster, so essentially they’re down a WR with Henry going on IR.

Blogger at CincyJungle.com -- SB Nation Cincinnati Bengals blog.

by Kirkendall on Nov 10, 2009 1:09 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Where have I heard this idea before?

I would think it is a distinct possiblity but not for this week. He’s a talented kid at TE/WR, but he needs to bulk up and learn NFL blocking. Unless Purify and Simpson both get mangled, then he won’t be in for that position, nor will he be replacing Foschi anytime soon. However, I would love to see the deadwood Coats go bye-bye and Coffman can come in for any 2 TE plays.

by UpStateMike on Nov 11, 2009 9:07 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Interesting indeed, I agree throw Coffman out there see what he does against the likes of Lions in a few weeks.

by OCHO-fan-in-Greenville on Nov 10, 2009 3:57 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Simpson and Purify seems to be the players most similar to Henry. If we bring in someone else, we will have to give people new roles, or develop different plays. (Both ambitious tasks to hand to Brat)

Putting Caldwell into more of an outside/deep-threat role, and moving someone like Coffman into the underneath/possession receiver role doesn’t sound that appealing.

I say, give Simpson a shot, or, if we don’t need to use Henry’s roster spot for a guard, follow Palmer’s advice and bring in Purify.

by R.F. Mehl on Nov 10, 2009 5:29 PM EST reply actions 0 recs