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UPDATE
The Bengals announced Friday that Auden Tate has been signed to the practice squad.
Tate, a rookie, was waived by the team yesterday and cleared waivers earlier today. The third of three Bengals seventh-round draft picks this year, Tate was inactive for the first six games, but a strong preseason and training camp has the Bengals thinking he can become a contributor down the line.
Now, they’ll get a chance to keep developing him on the practice squad, and hopefully, he’ll be back on the 53-man roster later this season.
Here is an updated look at the Bengals’ practice squad:
Bengals practice squad
| Player | # | Pos | HT | WT | Age | Exp | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | # | Pos | HT | WT | Age | Exp | College |
| Andrew Brown | 93 | DT | 6-3 | 296 | 22 | R | Virginia |
| Moritz Böhringer | 49 | TE | 6-5 | 243 | 25 | 1 | Unknown |
| Demetrious Cox | TBD | DB | 6-0 | 200 | 24 | 1 | Michigan State |
| Quinton Flowers | 34 | HB | 5-10 | 211 | 23 | R | South Florida |
| Jordan Franks | 88 | H-B | 6-4 | 240 | 22 | R | Central Florida |
| Christian Hackenberg | 5 | QB | 6-4 | 228 | 23 | 3 | Penn State |
| Brad Lundblade | 61 | C | 6-3 | 300 | 23 | R | Oklahoma State |
| Kent Perkins | 76 | OT | 6-5 | 305 | 23 | 1 | Texas |
| Auden Tate | 19 | WR | 6-5 | 228 | 21 | R | Florida State |
| Kermit Whitfield | 17 | WR | 5-8 | 192 | 25 | 1 | Florida State |
| Chris Worley | 47 | LB | 6-1 | 238 | 23 | R | Ohio State |
The Cincinnati Bengals have signed cornerback KeiVarae Russell off of the practice squad, and in a corresponding move, waived wide receiver Auden Tate.
It’s quite surprising to see Tate, a seventh-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft, be waived after just six weeks of the season. He had a great showing in training camp and the preseason, enough to think his spot was secure for 2018. Alas, he couldn’t find a way to contribute on special teams, which is why he was inactive in Weeks 1-6, so the Bengals opted to waive him in hopes of getting him to the practice squad.
As for Russell, he spent the previous two seasons on the 53-man roster before being waived during final cut this year. Originally a third-round draft pick of the Kansas City Chiefs in 2016, Russell has played in 13 games for the Bengals over the past two seasons, recording eight tackles on defense with one interception.
He surprisingly failed to make the 53-man roster this year, so his promotion to the roster comes as no surprise with the secondary banged up. Darqueze Dennard is not expected to play on Sunday as he deals with a shoulder injury. Shawn Williams is iffy to play while recovering from a concussion, so the secondary is banged up heading to Kansas City to face potentially the NFL’s best offense.
Russell will likely see the field on Sunday. If Tate clears waivers, expect him to be moved to the practice squad.