The Cincinnati Bengals got an up-close look at several free agent defensive backs today with their secondary hurting following their Week 12 win over the St. Louis Rams.
Along with Chykie Brown, free agent cornerbacks Bradley Fletcher and Tony Carter also worked out in Cincinnati:
Just ran into former Rams CB Bradley Fletcher at Cincinnati airport. He had workout with Bengals today. Cincy apparently worked out 6 DBs.
— Nick Wagoner (@nwagoner) November 30, 2015
#Bengals also worked out CB Tony Carter. https://t.co/5d0oB3EToQ
— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) November 30, 2015
It's unclear, though likely that cornerback Asa Jackson was also part of this workout. Jackson was signed to the practice squad earlier today, and it looks like he beat out the above-mentioned veterans for a spot with the Bengals. It's also unclear as to who the other two defensive backs the team is said to have worked out are and/or if the Bengals have any interest in actually signing them.
Fletcher is a seven-year veteran who was with the New England Patriots for two games this season before being cut. He's played in 73 NFL games (54 starts) and has eight career interceptions and 59 pass deflections. He's spent the majority of his career with the Rams, but had a two-year stint with the Philadelphia Eagles from 2013-14 before signing with New England this offseason. Though he has a lot of starting experience, Fletcher is someone who has been getting burned frequently in recent years and has been a liability more often than not.
As for Carter, he's also a seven-year veteran that spent three games with the Indianapolis Colts this season before being cut. Carter has played in 45 games (3 starts) and has three career interceptions with 24 pass deflections. He's bounced around the league with stops in Denver, New England and Indianapolis. He has far less starting experience than Fletcher and has been mostly a special teams player in the NFL.
Depending on the severity of current Bengals cornerback Chris Lewis-Harris' injury, it's possible one of the aforementioned corners could eventually sign with the Bengals, especially if another corner gets injured in the coming weeks. But, the Bengals would likely see another player placed on I.R. before signing someone off the street to take away a roster spot.
There's also Troy Hill on the practice squad with Jackson now if another corner needs to be added to the roster. More than likely, all of these defensive backs worked out with the Bengals today so that they could have an up-to-date emergency list of players they could sign if there are further injuries at corner. Since Jackson was signed to the practice squad, he or Hill would probably be the first player signed to the 53-man roster if another injury occurs.
Hopefully, Lewis-Harris is able to play again and no further moves are made.
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UPDATE
Former Bengals CB Brandon Ghee and Patriots CB Robert McClain were also among the players who worked out for the team on Monday.
#Bengals worked out CBs Tony Carter, Brandon Ghee, Robert McClain, Asa Jackson (signed to PS), Chykie Brown, and Corey White on Monday.
— Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) December 1, 2015
Ghee re-joined the Bengals back in March, but was released during final roster cuts. The former third-round pick out of Wake Forest has bounced around the league, and it looks like he's still an emergency option for Cincinnati.