Bengals land Devin Asiasi, Max Scharping and Jay Tufele but lose Kendric Pryor

Earlier today, news broke that the Cincinnati Bengals were expected to sign tight end O.J. Howard following his release from the Buffalo Bills.

While that has yet to open, the Bengals have added another new tight end in the form of Devin Asiasi, who was waived by the New England Patriots during final roster cuts.

That’s not all, as the Bengals have also claimed guard Max Scharping and defensive tackle Jay Tufele. ESPN’s Adam Schefter broke the news on all three additions. It’s unclear how the Bengals made room for all three signings.

Not all news is good, as Kendric Pryor was claimed by the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Bengals were hoping to get him back to the practice squad.

Asiasi, a third-round pick of the Patriots in 2020, played collegiately for the UCLA Bruins and was compared to former Atlanta Falcons tight end Alge Crumpler entering the 2020 draft.

However, Asiasi was unable to stand out in a Patriots tight end room that features Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith. In 10 career games, Asiasi has caught just two passes (seven targets) for 39 yards and one touchdown. He played in just one game during the 2021 season.

Scharping, a second-round pick of the Houston Texans in 2019, played at Northern Illinois and has played in 48 NFL games (33 starts), including all 17 games (11 starts) during the 2021 season. He’s played both left and right guard but primarily on the right side last year.

Tufele, a fourth-round pick of the Jags in 2021, played for the USC Trojans in college and appeared in four games (no starts) as a rookie. You can see our 2021 draft profile of Tufele above thanks to our own Anthony Cosenza.

The Bengals have yet to announce these additions, as they’ll need to make several other moves to make room for these three on the 53-man roster.

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