Jayson DiManche's NFL journey thus far has been an interesting one.
After going undrafted out of Southern Illinois in 2013, DiManche signed as an undrafted free agent with the Bengals. He played in all 16 games as a rookie while making 18 tackles and appeared to have a promising career ahead of him.
But after being cut by the Bengals, landing in Kansas City and having a cup of coffee in Cleveland before finally arriving back in Cincinnati, DiManche will now look to get his professional career back on the right track with the team that gave him his first shot in the NFL.
Player Info
Height: 6'1"
Weight: 244 pounds
Age: 25
College: Southern Illinois
Hometown: Hamilton, NJ
Position: Linebacker
Contract
2016 Stock
After his promising rookie season, DiManche opened 2014 as one of the team's top linebackers before finishing with seven tackles on defense, three on special teams and a forced fumble on special teams. He was put on season-ending I.R. after suffering a forearm fracture during Cincinnati's 14-13 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 13 of that season.
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After opening the 2015 training camp with Cincinnati, DiManche suffered a knee injury in the preseason, which led to him being placed on I.R. He was eventually cut with an injury settlement, which allowed him to sign with another NFL team. He ended up joining the Chiefs' practice squad, and was later signed to the Browns' 53-man roster.
In Cleveland, DiManche was active for one game before being waived and then signed again a few weeks later, before being cut again and later signed to the Bengals practice squad for the Wild Card week. Having a previous background with the Bengals in addition to playing meaningful snaps, not to mention he's still young with room to grow, DiManche's stock is slightly on the rise in 2016 just from being healthy and entering his fourth year in the NFL.
Roster Chances
With Vontaze Burfict suspended for the first three games, that probably means a linebacker who wasn't going to make the roster will survive final cuts, giving the Bengals more insurance while Tez is out. Assuming the other five backers are Nick Vigil, P.J. Dawson, Karlos Dansby, Vinny Rey and Rey Maualuga, that probably leaves DiManche battling Darien Harris, Marquis Flowers and Trevor Roach for those final one or two spots.
While I believe Flowers is the better linebacker, the margin between he and DiManche isn't that wide, so seeing either guy win the job won't be much of a surprise. Roach spent most of 2015 on the practice squad, while Flowers was on I.R. due to a shoulder injury.
I give DiManche around a 40-percent chance of making the final 53-man roster. While the odds are slightly against him, it won't be a shock to see him make it onto the Week 1 roster. He'll then need to survive past Week 3 when Burfict returns and a player needs to be cut to make room.