Bengals activate Mitchell Wilcox

The Cincinnati Bengals have cleared tight end Mitchell Wilcox to practice and removed him from the Active/Physically Unable to Perform list, the team announced Monday. Wilcox had been placed on the Active/PUP list on July 24th after being signed by the team that same day.

A fourth-year player this season, Wilcox spent his first three seasons with Cincinnati after originally joining the Bengals as an undrafted free agent in 2020 out of South Florida. In 31 career games (five starts) in Cincinnati, the Florida native has caught 20 passes for 155 yards and one touchdown.

Now that Wilcox is activated, he can begin practicing with the team for the first time since he was re-signed on July 24th. He had been an unrestricted free agent after the Bengals declined to tender him as a restricted free agent this offseason.

If healthy, he figures to challenge Drew Sample for the No. 2 tight end spot, though you have to wonder how rusty Wilcox is after such a long layoff and if the Bengals may try to stash him on the practice squad, at least for the early portion of the regular season.

Final roster cuts are due August 29th.