Bengals sign Pat Sims and waive Josh Tupou

UPDATE

The Cincinnati Bengals have officially signed Pat Sims to the 53-man roster and waived Josh Tupou.

If Tupou clears waivers, expect the Bengals to re-sign him to the practice squad later this week.

The Cincinnati Bengals are poised to bring back Pat Sims.

According to the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Bengals are planning to sign Sims and waive rookie Josh Tupou to make room. Cincinnati waived Sims this weekend after he suffered a calf injury that led to him missing the last three games.

Because the NFL Trade Deadline has passed, every player who is cut must go through waivers, even vested veterans who would normally go straight to free agency and skip waivers if cut prior to the deadline. Sims cleared waivers on Monday.

The Enquirer also reports that Sims should be healthy enough to face the Cleveland Browns in Week 12. He had been starting at defensive tackle before sustaining the injury in Week 9 against the Jaguars.

With Sims out, Andrew Billings has seen extensive snaps, as has rookie Ryan Glasgow. Billings is more of a run-stuffer, while Glasgow adds a little more in the pass rush.

But the Bengals are loyal to a fault with their veterans, and they’d rather have Sims starting down the stretch of what they hope is a playoff push. In eight games this season (seven starts), Sims has accounted for 19 total tackles and no sacks.

As for Tupou, he was inactive during Sunday’s win at Denver, so he’s the easy candidate to cut if Sims is re-signed. The Bengals will almost certainly try to re-sign Tupou to the practice squad, where there’s an open spot right now.