The Cincinnati Bengals cutting 11 players ahead of Tuesday’s final cuts deadline made it even more obvious—at least two undrafted free agents should be roster locks on the initial 53-man roster.
That’s no easy task for an undrafted rookie to accomplish on a contention-ready Bengals roster with little turnover and the team already adding 10 draft picks.
But linebacker Maema Njongmeta has just been that good.
Njongmeta led the Bengals in tackles in all three preseason games and was a standout in camp, so odds are good the staff finds a way to fit him. Aaron Casey, the other undrafted linebacker the Bengals paid up extra to get after the draft, was one of the 11 early cuts.
The other undrafted free agent likely making the initial 53 is punter Ryan Rehkow, though it largely hinges on whether Brad Robbins’ hip injury heals quickly enough to have him ready for Week 1.
Our final 53-man roster projection also has undrafted cornerback Lance Robinson making the final roster, but that’s more of a long shot by comparison.
Either way, even two undrafted free agents making the final roster would speak to a quality job done by the front office in finding talent. And others who just missed — perhaps such as Robinson — could always stay in the program via the practice squad.
Also notable is that the team appears to have several late-round draft pick hits on their hands too, with center Matt Lee’s (seventh routh) stock booming, safety Daijahn Anthony (seventh) seeming like a roster lock and Tanner McLachlan (sixth) being a guy they won’t be able to slip onto the practice squad because other teams will take him.
