2 surprise Bengals preseason roster cuts to watch out for before Week 1

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2 surprise Bengals preseason roster cuts to watch out for before Week 1

Ben Strauss · ClutchPoints

Sun, Aug 24, 2025 ·

3 min read

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The post 2 surprise Bengals preseason roster cuts to watch out for before Week 1 appeared first on ClutchPoints .

The Cincinnati Bengals are ready to make up for lost time during the 2025 NFL season. Cincinnati's offense dominated in 2024, but their defense simply couldn't keep up .

Now the Bengals are hopeful that they can play some complementary football this fall. And get back to the playoffs as a result.

NFL teams need to start making tough decisions with the regular season just weeks away. Every team needs to get down to their 53 best players in just a few days. The Bengals will likely face some tough choices along the way.

But which players are in the most danger? And could a few surprise players end up getting cut?

Below we will explore two Bengals players who could be surprise roster cuts before Week 1.

Will Mitchell Tinsley steal Isaiah Williams ' spot on the final roster?

This year's preseason sensation has been Bengals WR Mitchell Tinsley.

Bengals fans went crazy over Tinsley's big performance in Week 2 where he hauled in two touchdowns catches.

Bengals coach Zac Taylor heaped praise on the undrafted rookie after his big game.

"Baller," Taylor said of Tinsley after the game, per NFL.com's Kevin Patra. "Yeah, he just works hard. He's become a guy that everybody really respects in the locker room. I don't know that I've ever heard him speak. Maybe someone can get him tonight. He just goes out there and just works, and we respect that. And again, he created the opportunities for himself. He's done enough in practice to where we wanted to put him in positions to be at the point of attack when he was in the game there, and he rewarded himself with touchdowns and catches and extending drives and someone that's reliable for the quarterbacks in August. So just proud of him. This is the last team he was with, if I'm not mistaken, so probably a neat situation for him to come back on this field and do what he just did."

Tinsley sat out of the team's preseason finale, suggesting his roster spot is locked down.

That is a big problem for Isaiah Williams.

Williams' best shot at making Cincinnati's final roster was as a WR6. However, the math is not adding up.

Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins , Andrei Iosivas , Jermaine Burton , and Charlie Jones seem to have their spots locked in. If Tinsley does too, that already gives the Bengals six receivers.

If Williams does not make the final roster, Cincinnati should add him to their practice squad.

Do the Bengals need Isaiah Thomas amid Trey Hendrickson holdout?

The edge rusher position is still somewhat up in the air for the Bengals.

Cincinnati finally got first-round rookie Shemar Stewart back on the practice field. But they cannot say the same for Trey Hendrickson.

The superstar edge rusher is still holding out , which puts his status for Week 1 seriously in doubt.

Could that end up benefitting backup edge rusher Isaiah Thomas?

Thomas dominated in Cincinnati's preseason finale, logging two sacks and multiple pressures against Indianapolis .

The Bengals may prefer to simply stash Thomas on their practice squad as insurance. However, that may not be enough.

Detroit plucked Thomas off Cincinnati's practice squad during the 2024 season after their cavalcade of defensive injuries . The same thing could easily happen again if Thomas is on the radar for other NFL teams.

I can see where the Bengals could be tempted to keep Thomas. But there is a lot of competition at the position.

Even ignoring Hendrickson, Stewart, and Myles Murphy , Thomas would have to surpass multiple players to make the final roster. Cam Sample, Joseph Ossai , and Cedric Johnson all have an edge on Thomas.

If Thomas does make Cincinnati's final roster, he can credit his big preseason finale for making the difference.

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