Bengals sign Pooka Williams and Trayveon Williams to practice squad

The Bengals cut three running backs on Tuesday, and are bringing them all back on Wednesday.

The Bengals signed Jacques Patrick to the practice squad earlier in the day. They followed that up with news that they are signing Pooka Williams and Trayveon Williams as well.

Pooka Williams was an undrafted rookie out of Kansas this year. During the preseason, he only had two touches: a rushing attempt for eight yards and a kick return for 19 yards. Since Pooka Williams is undersized, a role as a kickoff or punt returner was probably his best bet for making an NFL roster. But that never materialized, leaving him on the chopping block.

Trayveon Williams was in Zac Taylor’s inaugural 2019 draft class, selected in the sixth round. He has a career 26 carries with the Bengals for 157 yards, along with five receptions for 30 yards. In the preseason, he only played in one game. Against the Dolphins, he had nine carries for a team-high 44 yards. He also had one kick return for 23 yards.

He was injured for most of the preseason, which hurt his chances of making the 53-man roster.

Since both running backs are on the smaller side, they will both be on the “depth chart” behind Chris Evans, and probably won’t get a promotion unless something happens to him.

The running back spot was probably one of the most stress-including cutdowns for Taylor, so it's possible one or two of the three running backs will get a promotion later this year.