Cincinnati Bengals 53-man roster: Here's who made the team

The team publicly announced its cuts and other roster designations moments after the Aug. 30 6 p.m. deadline.

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor on Aug. 28 said he expected the weekend to be a tense time of trimming down the roster because of the team's apparent depth. Here's what the team landed on for its initial 53-man roster for the 2026 season.

The Bengals terminated four contracts and waived 30 players as part of reached their initial 53-man roster. The team on Aug. 31 expects to announce its 16-player practice squad.

Two players were placed on injured reserve.

Cincinnati should look similar in 2026 on the offensive side in terms of starters, although there was noteworthy turnover in some of the depth spots.

Defensively, Dexter Lawrence headlined some noticeable roster churn resulting from the team's work in offseason free agency and in the NFL Draft.

All told, Cincinnati rostered two quarterbacks, six wide receivers, three running backs, five tight ends, nine offensive linemen, 11 defensive lineman, 10 defensive backs, four linebackers and three specialists.

Backups : Drew Sample, Tanner Hudson, Erick All Jr., Jack Endries

Starters : Orlando Brown Jr. Amarius Mims, Ted Karras, Dalton Risner, Dylan Fairchild

Backups : Jalen Rivers, Javon Foster, Jacob Bayer, Connor Lew

Starters : Demetrius Knight, Barrett Carter

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