The second week of workouts kicked off this week with 17 players making an appearance for the defense on Tuesday, including three making their first appearances, according to Joe Reedy of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Robert Sands, a fifth round rookie out of West Virginia is among them, along with Tom Nelson, an exclusive-rights free agent safety and Vincent Rey, a practice squad player.
Unless something catastrophic happens, such as an injury or severely misjudging his talent, Sands is likely going to be the team's backup safety on the depth chart due to a well known shortage of safeties. With Chris Crocker and Reggie Nelson expected to start for the Bengals in 2011, Roy Williams isn't expected to return and Chinedum Ndukwe will be a free agent. Though we largely expect to see Ndukwe back next season.
For the first 12 games in 2010, linebacker Vincent Rey was on the team's practice squad before being called up to the 53-man roster in the final four games of the regular season. He was finally activated in the final two games of the season, playing primarily on special teams.