It was partly expected that when the Bengals released Shaun Smith after being on the squad for three days, that Cincinnati simply needed his spot on the roster with injuries to Chris Crocker, Morgan Trent and Kyries Hebert -- all of whom missed some practice during the week leading up to the Vikings game. Smith was cut to make room for Rico Murray to sustain some depth in the secondary and, more specifically, on special teams.
Now Cincinnati figured that they needed defensive tackle help to sustain the defensive tackle rotation against the league's 31st ranked rushing offense. On Wednesday, the Bengals brought Shaun Smith back (again), tweets Joe Reedy.
Now the question is, who did the Bengals release? The answer: Maurice Purify. Most likely, Purify will pass through waivers and re-sign on the team's practice squad. Meanwhile, is this the first indication that former second round draft pick Jerome Simpson will be activated for the first time this year? One possible answer: If he contributes possibly helps special teams.