The Cincinnati Bengals resume offseason workouts on Tuesday and though these workouts are optional, expect the large majority of the team to be in attendance.
That includes 24 rookies, eight first year players, and only four players with double digit years of experience. Let’s take a look at the roster by position and how many years of NFL experience each player has.
Note: One year of NFL experience is deemed as playing (or being on an injury list for) six or more games. For example, Tony McRae was a rookie in 2016 but didn’t play any games, so he is considered a first year player in 2017. Meanwhile, Andrew Billings spent his entire rookie season on Injured Reserve, and is a second year player this season.
Note two: Positions are as listed on the Bengals’ website.
OFFENSE (43)
Center (3):
J.J. Dielman (rookie)
Russell Bodine (4 years experience)
T.J. Johnson (4 years experience)
Fullback (2):
Darrin Laufasa (rookie)
Ryan Hewitt (4 years experience)
*Rookie Cethan Carter is listed as both a tight end and fullback, but was counted toward the tight end unit in this listing.
Guard (6):
Kent Perkins** (rookie)
Dustin Stanton** (rookie)
Alex Redmond (1 year experience)
Trey Hopkins (2 years experience)
Christian Westerman (2 years experience)
Clint Boling (7 years experience)
Running Back (7):
Joe Mixon (rookie)
Jarveon Williams (rookie)
Stanley Williams (rookie)
Tra Carson (1 year experience)
Jeremy Hill (4 years experience)
Giovani Bernard (5 years experience)
Cedric Peerman (8 years experience)
Offensive Tackle (5):
Landon Lechler (rookie)
Jake Fisher (3 years experience)
Cedric Ogbuehi (3 years experience)
Andre Smith (9 years experience)
Eric Winston (11 years experience)
**Rookies Kent Perkins and Dustin Stanton are listed as both guards and tackles, but were counted toward the guard unit.
Quarterback (3):
Jeff Driskel (2 years experience)
AJ McCarron (3 years experience)
Andy Dalton (7 years experience)
Tight End (5):
Cethan Carter (rookie)
Mason Schreck (rookie)
Tyler Kroft (3 years experience)
C.J. Uzomah (3 years experience)
Tyler Eifert (5 years experience)
Wide Receiver (12):
Karel Hamilton (rookie)
Monty Madaris (rookie)
Josh Malone (rookie)
John Ross (rookie)
Jake Kumerow (1 year experience)
Alonzo Russell (1 year experience)
Tyler Boyd (2 years experience)
Chris Brown (2 years experience)
Cody Core (2 years experience)
Alex Erickson (2 years experience)
A.J. Green (7 years experience)
Brandon LaFell (8 years experience)
DEFENSE (41)
Cornerback (8):
Tony McRae (1 year experience)
William Jackson III (2 years experience)
KeiVarae Russell (2 years experience)
Josh Shaw (3 years experience)
Darqueze Dennard (4 years experience)
Bene Benwikere (4 years experience)
Dre Kirkpatrick (6 years experience)
Adam Jones (11 years experience)
Defensive End (7)
Jordan Willis (rookie)
Ryan Brown (1 year experience)
Will Clarke (4 years experience)
Chris Smith (4 years experience)
Carlos Dunlap (8 years experience)
Michael Johnson (9 years experience)
Wallace Gilberry (10 years experience)
Defensive Tackle (9)
Ryan Glasgow (rookie)
Josh Tupou (rookie)
David Dean (1 year experience)
Andrew Billings (2 years experience)
DeShawn Williams (2 years experience)
Marcus Hardison (3 years experience)
Brandon Thompson (6 years experience)
Geno Atkins (8 years experience)
Pat Sims (10 years experience)
Linebacker (11):
Brandon Bell (rookie)
Jordan Evans (rookie)
Carl Lawson (rookie)
Hardy Nickerson (rookie)
Bryson Albright (1 year experience)
P.J. Dawson (2 years experience)
Nick Vigil (2 years experience)
Marquis Flowers (4 years experience)
Kevin Minter (5 years experience)
Vontaze Burfict (6 years experience)
Vincent Rey (7 years experience)
Safety (6):
Demetrious Cox (rookie)
Brandon Wilson (rookie)
Clayton Fejedelem (2 years experience)
Derron Smith (3 years experience)
Shawn Williams (5 years experience)
George Iloka (6 years experience)
SPECIAL TEAMS (5):
Kicker (3):
Jake Elliott (rookie)
Jonathan Brown (1 year experience)
Randy Bullock (6 years experience)
Long Snapper (1):
Clark Harris (9 years experience)
Punter (1):
Kevin Huber (9 years experience)
Takeaways:
- The average Bengals player (when considering rookies have zero years of experience, has 3.2 years of NFL experience. This is the 90-man roster we’re talking about though and before Week 1, at least 36 of these players will no longer be on the Bengals’ roster.
- Wide receiver and running back have the most players on the roster on offense with 12 and 7 respectively.
- Defensive tackle and linebacker have the most players on the roster on defense with 9 and 11 respectively.
- On special teams, kicker is the only position at which there will be a roster battle, heading into OTAs.
- The positions with the least competition are safety (six players likely fighting for four spots), tight end (five players likely fighting for three spots), quarterback (three players --hardly-- fighting for two, though, maybe three spots), and across the offensive line.
- Even though there aren't many starting-caliber players on the roster at the offensive line positions, the backup spots are up for grabs.
It’s not going to be easy getting the roster from 89 to 53, that’s for sure.