Bengals waive Cedric Thompson with injury settlement

The Cincinnati Bengals have waived Cedric Thompson and given him an injury settlement, the team announced Saturday.

Thompson was vying for a spot on the final roster as a backup safety. He was signed on July 31 after the Bengals lost safeties Derron Smith and George Iloka to injuries early on in training camp. Both players have since returned to practice, leaving a logjam at safety.

Because Thompson got an injury settlement, he was probably injured to the point he couldn’t practice anytime soon and wasn’t going to make the final roster anyhow, but the Bengals are making sure he’s compensated for whatever injury he’s dealing with.

During his college career at Minnesota from 2011-14, Thompson had 205 tackles, 5.5 for a loss, five interceptions and three forced fumble, starting all 13 games at safety in 2014.

After becoming a fifth-round pick of the Miami Dolphins in the 2015 NFL Draft, Thompson has bounced around the NFL with several teams, including nine games on the Minnesota Vikings’ practice squad in 2016. The Vikings waived him on May 4 of this year.

Thompson spent the entire 2015 season on the Dolphins’ practice squad, then joined the New England Patriots for the entire 2016 offseason and two preseason games before joining the Vikings.

With Thompson now gone, the Bengals have Iloka, Smith, Shawn Williams Clayton Fejedelem and Demetrious Cox at safety for the rest of the preseason, though Josh Shaw has also taken reps there while playing primarily at cornerback.

The Bengals now have a free roster spot before facing the Kansas City Chiefs on Saturday night. That could eventually get filled, though there’s no guarantee it will with just two preseason games left after Saturday.