Cincinnati Bengals Announce First Round of Preseason Cuts

The third Cincinnati Bengals preseason game has been in the books for a little while now and the team has already begun paring back its roster for the 2024 season. While the deadline is August 27, Cincinnati has announced that it was letting go of 11 players, with 74 players still rostered:

• WR Hakeem Butler
• HB Noah Cain
• OT Jackson Carman
• DE Andre Carter
• LB Aaron Casey
• S Michael Dowell
• CB Allan George
• WR Kwamie Lassiter II
• QB Rocky Lombardi
• G Eric Miller
• DT Joshua Pryor

Easily, the player with the most prestige let go was 2021 second-round selection, Jackson Carman. At the time, it seemed like a bit of a reach based on both on-field and off-the-field concerns . The team even traded back once and was able to get him.

The former Clemson tackle was from Cincinnati and appeared in just 22 games for the Bengals with four starts. He also appeared in seven playoff games with a pair of starts. What that doesn't tell is the fact that 17 of those appearances were in 2021. Over the last two seasons, despite how poorly the Bengals' offensive line performed, Carman was left on the bench.

To add insult to injury, the Kansas City Chiefs selected All-Pro center Creed Humphrey 18 picks later. The Bengals could have traded back at least once more time and got a franchise player. Instead, they cut their pick before his rookie contract is completed.

Butler and Lassiter had uphill battles in a deep wide receiver room. They'll both likely be invited to the practice squad if/when they clear waivers.

The George cut shows that the Bengals have confidence in their top five corners and DJ Ivey . It will be interesting to see if Jalen Davis ends up making the initial roster.

Overall, these cuts were not incredibly surprising. The Bengals finally cut bait with Carman with the emergence of Matt Lee and Jaxson Kirkland as semi-reliable backups.