Through the mess of we-have-Whitner-we-don't-have-Whitner news, it was reported recently that the Bengals shed themselves of undrafted free agent running back from Hampton Steven Robinson and picked up former Philadelpia Eagles tight end John Nalbone.
Bengals waive CFA RB Robinson and claim Eagles TE John Nalboneless than a minute ago via web 
Favorite 
Retweet 
Reply
Geoff Hobson
GeoffHobsonCin
Robinson's release probably came from the team re-signing Cedric Benson.
Nalbone was selected in the fifth-round pick out of Monmouth College by the Miami Dolphins in 2009. He was waived by the Dolphins but re-signed with the team's practice squad. He was waived the following year and signed with the Minnesotta Vikings practice squad in September of 2010. He was waived by the vikings a month later and signed with the Denver Broncos practice squad, where he stayed for the rest of the 2010 season. He signed with the Philadelphia Eagles in January and was recently waived in August.
If nothing more, at least Nalbone knows the playbook of nearly half the teams in the NFL by now.
Here is what CBSSports.com had to say about Nalbone when they scouted him back in 2009:
Positives: Good size, strength and effort as a blocker. Highly competitive. Surprising athleticism shown in workouts. Catches the ball cleanly and looks to turn it upfield. Can track the ball over his shoulder. Adequate agility to avoid tacklers in the open field but good strength to run through them.
Negatives: Obvious concerns over his level of competition. needs to improve his strength to hold up as an inline blocker at the NFL level. Marginal burst out of his breaks to gain separation. Lacks experience in a sophisticated passing offense and will need time to acclimate to a typical route-tree.