If we were looking for any clarity on the Bengals’ first whack at the final roster from Friday night’s preseason finale in Philly, the back of the roster didn’t cooperate when they offered their most complete outing of what has been one of the club’s most impressive Augusts in recent memory.
Guys like wide receivers Ke’Shawn Williams and Charlie Jones, offensive linemen Javon Foster and Jacob Bayer, linebacker Swayze Bozeman and cornerback Bralyn Lux played well enough in the 30-13 win over the Eagles to give Sunday’s 6 p.m. cuts more than a few shades of gray.
Throw in the team’s ability to put two players on IR-return in four weeks who don’t count on the 53-man roster, the decisions of how many players to keep at each position in relation to their grades, potential trades (on the fifth anniversary of B.J. Hill for Billy Price), and how aggressive they’ll be using the practice squad for promotions, and pieces are moving Saturday into Sunday.
A final look at just how close it is.
QUARTERBACKS (4)
Head coach Zac Taylor called Johnson and Clifford “Nails,” Friday night, and he could have hammered home the same thing the weekend before.
Johnson has been so good (his 90.6 preseason passer rating is better than such notable backups as Jarrett Stidham, Spencer Rattler, and Jameis Winston) that Taylor was asked Friday night about the possibility that he would be claimed on waivers if cut and never make it to the practice squad.
“He’s going to capitalize on every rep he gets or doesn’t get,” Taylor said. “We’ll see how it all shakes out for us.”
WIDE RECEIVERS (12)
**Tee Higgins** (7), **Ja’Marr Chase** (6), **Andrei Iosivas** (4), **Charlie Jones** (4), **Mitch Tinsley** (3), **Kendric Pryor** (2), **Ke’Shawn Williams** (2), **Xavier Johnson** (1), **Jordan Moore** (1), **Dohnte Meyers** (1), **Noah Thomas** (R), **Colbie Young** (R)
How about those spots behind Chase, Higgins, Iosivas, and Young? Everybody in the world has got Meyers as their fifth when he played only Friday’s first series and was promptly pulled after he caught 51 yards.
Jones reminded everyone why he would be a very tough cut. The man who has a return touchdown in each of the last three seasons ripped off a 31-yard punt return Friday and had two of their longest catches in the second half. No one had a longer catch than always-reliable Tinsley with a 31-yarder, and no one made a prettier touchdown catch than Williams, also a proven reliable returner. At some point, you have to just realize you may lose a good player and tip your hat to the scouts and coaches.
RUNNING BACKS (7)
Brooks lost a fumble, but he still seems to have held on to the spot behind Brown and Perine. Bullock (85 yards on 14 carries) and Haynes (78 on seven), were outstanding in the fourth quarter, but they also came in with the least experience and the least film. The least surprised at what the rookies did was Josh Johnson: “Those are the guys I work with, and they can play.”
You’ve got to love the 5-7, 195-pound Haynes, who came into the night with just one preseason carry before authoring a remarkable 39-yard touchdown run where he reversed field and then went back again before running away from a slew of missed tackles.
After the game, he promptly recalled he had a similar play for Georgia Tech on a screen pass when he ran through three defenders at the Syracuse goal line. Then he dropped a “Le’Veon Bell,” as he talked about the patience on his run.
“I just stayed in the playbook and kept ready,” Haynes said.