Bengals sign Kirk Barron

Most NFL teams will spend the next week only making roster cuts. The Cincinnati Bengals, however, have made an addition ahead of Thursday’s preseason finale vs. the Indianapolis Colts.

On Monday, the team signed free agent center Kirk Barron.

Barron, who weighs in at 6-2 and 300 pounds, is a rookie by way of the Purdue Boilermakers who originally signed as a college free agent with the Miami Dolphins in May. He was waived later that month.

Barron spent four seasons (2015-18) at Purdue and played in 43 games. He finished his collegiate career with 39 consecutive starts and earned honorable mention All-Big Ten honors as a senior in 2018. Barron was also a co-recipient of the team’s 2018 Leonard Wilson Award, given annually to the player who best exemplifies unselfish dedication.

The Bengals likely made this signing in anticipation of sitting most of their starting offensive linemen in Thursday’s game, as the last thing this team needs is another injury/retirement in the trenches. In addition, backups O’Shea Dugas and Keaton Sutherland are injured and may not play Thursday as well.