NFL Roster Cuts: Bengals cut rookie fifth round pick J.J. Dielman

The Cincinnati Bengals have proven to be uber conservative when cutting rookie draft picks. But when the team had 11 picks in this year’s NFL Draft, we knew it would be tough for all 11 to make the 53-man roster in their rookie year.

Difficult cuts are going to be made today as the Bengals trim down from 83 players (on Friday) to 53 players on the roster by 4:00 p.m. ET on Saturday.

Among the cuts is the team’s fifth-round compensatory pick in the 2017 NFL Draft, J.J. Dielman, this according to Cincinnati Enquirer reporter Jim Owczarski.

The team is hoping to bring him back on the practice squad tomorrow, assuming he makes it through waivers and isn’t claimed by another team.

The former Utah Utes captain started out in college as a right tackle before switching to play the center position in his senior season. Unfortunately, five games into the year he went down with a season-ending foot injury. That injury continued into this year with the Bengals. Dielman was unavailable for OTAs and minicamp but was cleared from his Lisfranc injury in time for training camp. That set him back a bit, which didn’t help toward his bid for a roster spot.

With experience at tackle and center, Dielman offers versatility and the Bengals will hope to bring him back and continue to develop him on the practice squad.

“I just want to show coach he can trust me and that I’m prepared both physically and mentally,” Dielman told Cincy Jungle in an interview this summer. “I want to be a good teammate and earn the trust of my teammates because that’s one of the most important things if you’re going to play offensive line.”

Hopefully the Bengals can get Dielman onto the practice squad so he can work toward improving and getting onto the 53-man roster in the future.