Bengals activate Alex Redmond

Alex Redmond is back.

On Sunday, the Bengals announced that Redmond had passed his physical and is now cleared to practice. He had opened training camp on PUP due to a shoulder injury.

A third-year player in 2019, Redmond is also set to serve a four-game suspension for PED use, but he’s allowed to practice and play in preseason games until Week 1. He was originally an undrafted free agent for the 2016 season by way of the UCLA Bruins.

Last season, Redmond played in and started 15 games at right guard and helped pave the way for running back Joe Mixon’s AFC-best 1,168 rushing yards.

However, Redmond has been a major liability as a pass-protector, which is why the Bengals went out and signed John Miller to a three-year deal this offseason. Miller is the presumed starter with Redmond battling John Jerry Michael Jordan, Trey Hopkins and Christian Westerman for backup spots.

Because of the suspension, Redmond likely won’t get a chance to compete for the left guard spot vacated by now-retired Clint Boling. And since Redmond won’t count against the 53-man roster until the Bengals can activate him in Week 5 at the earliest, he’ll likely remain with the team until his suspension concludes.