Broncos sign J.J. Dielman off Bengals’ practice squad

The Cincinnati Bengals have once again lost J.J. Dielman. On Saturday, the Denver Broncos signed Dielman off of the Bengals’ practice squad, according to Ian Rapoport.

Drafted by the Bengals in Round 5 with the 176th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, Dielman was waived during final roster cuts by Cincinnati. The team hoped to re-sign him to the practice squad heading into Week 1, but the Los Angeles Rams claimed him off waivers. That’s where he spent the first week of the season before being waived on in Week 2 to make room for Cornelius Lucas.

Once Dielman cleared waivers, the Bengals were quick to get him on the practice squad, filling the void left by Jake Elliott, who signed with the Philadelphia Eagles that week. Ironically, Elliott was also a fifth-round pick this year who was waived during final cuts. He was initially signed to the Bengals’ practice squad, but the Eagles signed him to their 53-man roster.

All of this means the Bengals will end up losing two fifth-round picks from their 2017 draft class.

Dielman fit the mold of offensive linemen the Bengals prefer in that he's very versatile and provides depth at multiple positions. He was a starting center and team captain for the Utah Utes in 2016 after starting all 26 games in 2014 and 2015 at the right tackle spot.

However, Dielman only appeared in five games in 2016 before sustaining a season-ending leg injury. That helped lead to him falling into Day 3 of the draft. Dielman also missed a good portion of Bengals OTAs, though he went through training camp with no reported setbacks.

What makes this even more of a tough pill to swallow is the Bengals just placed TJ Johnson on injured reserve, so there was a need for another lineman, but the Bengals ended up signing Jarveon Williams off the practice squad.