We're now sitting at 45 days until Bengals regular-season football is back.
That means it's time for a look back at former players who wore the No. 45 during their NFL careers in Cincinnati.
PLAYER | YEARS |
Tom Smiley | 1968 |
Archie Griffin | 1976-83 |
Carl Carter | 1990 |
Wayne Haddix | 1991 |
Ty Douthard | 1997 |
Rogers Beckett | 2003-04 |
Jeromy Miles | 2010-12 |
Trevor Roach | 2015 |
Like most numbers in the 40s, the No. 45 hasn't had many Bengals wear it during franchise's history. The first to wear it was running back Tom Smiley. Drafted out of Lamar in the second round (55th overall) of the 1968 NFL Draft, Smily would play in just eight games (0 starts) with the Bengals. He carried the ball 63 times for 146 yards (2.3 ypc) and one score during that span.
The next man to wear No. 45 would end up being the greatest Bengal to ever don it. That was former Ohio State running back Archie Griffin, who Cincinnati drafted in the first round (24th overall) in the 1976 draft. To this day, Griffin is the only NCAA football player to date to win the Heisman Trophy twice. His NFL success, however, wouldn't quite measure up to his college success, though he did play seven seasons with the Bengals while rushing 691 times for 2,808 yards (4.1 ypc) and seven scores. Griffin also caught 192 passes for 1,607 yards and six more scores.
As for the current Bengals, linebacker Trevor Roach will wear No. 45 in training camp after being signed as an undrafted free agent out of Nebraska. He's a long-shot to make the roster with this being a deep position in terms of players who already have NFL experience, but never say never.