Bengals waive Khalid Kareem

The Cincinnati Bengals today waived defensive end Khalid Kareem.

Kareem, a third-year player out of Notre Dame, was the Bengals’ fifth-round pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. In his first two seasons, he played in 27 games (including postseason), recording 31 total tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, and one forced fumble.

In 2021, Kareem dealt with injuries at the beginning and end of the regular season but managed to play into the postseason. Injuries continued to hinder him this year as he missed most of the preseason with a hamstring injury. The Bengals placed him on the Reserve/Injured list to start the season, forcing him to miss the team’s first four games.

Kareem was designated to return from I.R. last week and was officially taken off the list yesterday. This makes the timing of his waiving a bit interesting considering he should be healthy enough to play. The Bengals currently have 52 rostered players, so if Kareem is not set to be player No. 53, someone else might be in the near future.