90-in-90 Bengals Roster Breakdown: Chykie Brown in good position for roster spot

The Bengals have been hit hard at cornerback this year. That could pave the way for a guy like Chykie Brown to sneak onto the final 53-man roster when the season begins.

You may remember Brown from his three and a half year career with the Ravens after they took him in the fifth round of the 2011 NFL draft out of Texas. He was on the wrong end of an A.J. Green game-winning touchdown in Baltimore during the 2014 season.

It’s been a rocky road for Brown over the past three years. He was waived in the middle of the 2014 season after playing in seven games to start the season. In total he played 46 games (2 starts) with Baltimore while notching only eight career pass deflections and no interceptions.

Brown was then claimed by the Giants and went on to play in eight games (4 starts) with them in 2014. He was then re-signed by the Giants during the 2015 offseason to a two-year, $2-million deal before being released during final roster cuts. He was dealing with a knee sprain that cost him most of the preseason, which helped lead to his release.

No team showed much interest in him until the Bengals signed him to their 90-man offseason roster in February. Since then, Brown has been working to earn a spot on the final roster once it is made. On Thursday night against the Lions, Brown recorded 2 solo and 2 assisted tackles, while not looking as bad as we’ve seen him look in training camp this year. So, what should you know about Brown as he continues to fight for a roster spot?

Player Info

Height: 5’11”
Weight: 191 pounds
Age: 29
College: Texas
Hometown: Houston, TX
Experience: 5th-Year Player

Contract

2016 Stock

In theory, Brown has a great chance to make the Bengals’ 53-man roster with the team being so thin at cornerback. Injuries to William Jackson III and Darqueze Dennard could put Brown in line to not only make the roster but be as high as the fourth corner in Week 1 if he just plays decent.

The problem is, Brown hasn’t looked like much of an NFL corner. He has struggled mightily in training camp and the first preseason game vs the Vikings. Even with a great opportunity in front of him, Brown’s stock dropping fast. As things stand now and assuming Dennard gets back healthy before the regular-season opener, it’s safe to say the depth chart ahead of Brown is as follows: Adam Jones, Dre Kirkpatrick Darqueze Dennard, Josh Shaw, Chris Lewis-Harris and then Brown.

Roster Chances

As bad as Brown has been thus far, he’s still in good position to make the final roster if he plays well for the rest of the preseason. He’s battling Darius Hillary for the sixth cornerback spot if the Bengals keep that many.

They very well could to start out the year with Dennard being iffy for Week 1. The fact that Brown only needs to beat out an undrafted free agent would seem to bode well for his chances. Even then, I still give Brown just a 35-percent chance of making the final roster.