Bengals cut Brandon Thompson, waive Stanley Williams and Karel Hamilton

The Cincinnati Bengals have made a trio of roster moves following their preseason loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. The most notable of which was veteran defensive tackle Brandon Thompson having his contract terminated.

The Bengals also have waived wide receiver Karel Hamilton and running back Stanley ‘Boom’ Williams. All three of Hamilton, Williams and Thompson were facing stiff odds to make the final 53-man roster with their respective positions being so crowded. Cutting them now will at least allow them to catch on with another team before the preseason ends.

Thompson, who was entering his sixth NFL season, missed all of 2016 while recovering from a torn ACL suffered at the end of the 2015 season. That injury is a big reason why the former third-round pick is being cut, though it didn’t help that defensive tackle has become a deep position with Pat Sims, Andrew Billings, Geno Atkins, DeShawn Williams and Marcus Hardison in better position to make the final roster.

There’s also defensive ends Wallace Gilberry and Will Clarke getting snaps at defensive tackle. David Dean and Ryan Brown are also vying for roster spots after spending 2016 on the Bengals’ practice squad.

Hamilton, a rookie undrafted free agent out of Samford, has failed to catch a pass in the preseason while fighting for reps at arguably the deepest position on the Bengals’ roster. He was a longshot to even make the practice squad, so waiving him now makes sense.

As for Williams, he was arguably the best undrafted free agent the Bengals acquired this year. The former Kentucky running back was projected as a draftable prospect by many draft experts. Heading into the draft, Williams was ranked 151st overall by ESPN’s Mel Kiper, which would have put him in the Round 5 range.

However, Williams wasn’t going to make the final roster with Cedric Peerman, Tra Carson, Jeremy Hill, Giovani Bernard and Joe Mixon all getting the bulk of the touches in training camp and the preseason thus far. Williams was on the field for just three snaps in Saturday’s blowout loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.

In addition to the Bengals waiving safety Cedric Thompson on Saturday, the Bengals now have four open roster spots heading into the third preseason game. It’s likely they’ll add another player at some point, possibly at safety as thin as that position is right now.