Bengals re-sign rookie CB Corey Tindal

The Cincinnati Bengals have made a move to address their cornerback depth.

On Wednesday, the team announced that former Marshall Thundering Herd cornerback Corey Tindal had been signed by the Bengals. The move came less than 24 hours after news broke that William Jackson III may miss most, if not all of 2016 with a pectoral injury.

Tindal didn't originally sign with a team until he got a tryout with the Bengals and was signed on May 8, but was waived on July 20 following a robbery incident in which he was a victim.

Following the 2016 NFL Draft, Tindal was thought to be one of the Bengals' best undrafted free agent signings. He was a very good corner from the Conference USA ranks and Walter Football gave him a Round 6-UDFA grade, while CBS Sports gave him a Round 7-UDFA grade.

After sitting his first year at Marshall (2012) as an academic non-qualifier, Tindal made an immediate impact as a redshirt freshman in 2013. He started 12 games, all at nickel, and was fifth among Herd in tackles with 61 (40 solos), including five tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and six pass breakups.

This past season, Tindal posted career highs in interceptions (two), pass breakups (15) and sacks (3) in 2015, helping the Herd to finish 25th in the FBS in passing yards allowed (191.9 per game) and 12th in scoring defense (17.8 points allowed per game).

Tindal finished his Marshall career with 198 total tackles, 11 for a loss, three interceptions, five sacks and 34 pass breakups before declaring for the 2016 draft, forgoing his senior year.

Because he didn't take part in the NFL Scouting Combine, Tindal flew under the draft radar of many this offseason. Tindal is also hurt by his small frame at just 5'9" and 187 pounds.

But that can be a good thing for a nickel corner who's often going against smaller and quicker receivers. The problem for Tindal is, even with no Jackson, the Bengals are very deep at cornerback. You have to assume Dre Kirkpatrick, Adam Jones, Darqueze Dennard and Josh Shaw are locks to make the team this year.

That means the fifth and sixth corner spot will feature a battle between Chykie Brown, Chris Lewis-Harris, Tindal and other fringe corners vying for a spot on the roster. Lewis-Harris has been a decent corner to this point in his career, but if Tindal can even come close to being as good as him, the Bengals may keep Tindal since he's younger with more room to grow.

But until we see what Tindal is made of, it’s hard to see him having much of a chance to make the final roster. Even a good showing in camp and through the preseason doesn't assure him of a roster spot, but it would give him a strong chance of making the practice squad.

That's where Tindal's best odds of staying with the Bengals are, but for now, he’ll be fighting for a spot on the final roster.