“I feel good about the progress those guys have made and our confidence in all those guys that have been in there competing, so we’ll just see how it all shakes out,” Taylor said.
So if they claim a ninth offensive lineman, does the open spot come from the D-line room or the tight end room? It sounds like Taylor would have a hard time cutting tight ends Tanner Hudson or Cam Grandy, the guys who played so well behind the Big Three of Mike Gesicki, Noah Fant and Drew Sample.
“They both earned a spot. They both have value on our team, and we feel like we can utilize those guys in different ways,” Taylor said. “I thought both those guys had really good camps for us, good preseason games and earned the opportunity to go on the 53, so excited to have both those guys.”
Maybe not so much of a surprise as those roster spots is undrafted rookie William Wagner unseating three-year incumbent Cal Adomitis.
“Really hard decision. Both those guys, I thought, performed their best all training camp,” Taylor said. “And that’s what I told Cal. This wasn’t a matter of somebody losing the competition. It was, we got the best out of both those guys. Ultimately, we decided to go with Will, but I thought Cal had a really strong camp as well. There’s a chance he ends up somewhere else, I’m sure.”
Also not a surprise with backup safety Daijahn Anthony going on injured reserve-return, small-school PJ Jules (Southern Illinois) gets a shot if the Bengals don’t go safety hunting on the wire.
“PJ Jules had a really good camp, so the opportunity for him to be up there and try to help us on the 53 on special teams, safety, however that shakes out, I think he has earned that opportunity,” Taylor said. “I thought that was really good competition in that room and this is the way it sorted out for us.”
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