Cincinnati Bengals just took a major step towards deciding wide open roster battle

The Cincinnati Bengals made a bevy of moves three days before their preseason opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

On top of placing edge defender Cam Sample on the Reserve/Injured list following his Achilles injury , the team signed edge defender Andre Carter and defensive tackle Joshua Pryor to the active roster.

To help make room for both Carter and Pryor, Cincinnati also waived punter Austin McNamara and wide receiver Tre Mosley. Mosley was unlikely to make the roster as an undrafted free agent signing buried beneath a deep wide receiver group, but while McNamara was also a UDFA, he was in play take the punter job for the regular season.

Now that he's out of the picture, that battle is down to just two names.

Bengals take one step closer towards landing on a punter for 2024

The Bengals have carried three punters since the first weekend of training camp. McNamara was joined by incumbent punter Brad Robbins and Ryan Rehkow, who was signed as a free agent on July 26. Rehkow was also originally a UDFA signing this offseason. The Kansas City Chiefs signed him following the NFL Draft in April before releasing him in June.

McNamara getting the boot now, before any of the three preseason games, indicates Rehkow has done enough to move himself in front of the team's original rookie competitor for Robbins despite his standing on the team's initial depth chart . Having seen Rehkow punt in person, it's clear to see why .

The idea of rotating three punters throughout just three preseason games was always a bit tricky, but having a classic versus matchup between two legs is right up the Bengals' alley. Kevin Huber battled Drue Chrisman before the 2022 season, and Chrisman went up against Robbins in 2023.

The incumbent was eventually replaced before the end of the season on both occasions, which doesn't bode well for Robbins. The former sixth-round pick from last year's draft struggled mightily as a rookie last year, which spurred the Bengals to bring in more competition than ever before at his position.

Robbins and Rehkow were able to fend off McNamara after two weeks of camp, but it says a lot for Rehkow to beat out another rookie despite being here for only two weeks as opposed to three months.

Now he'll have three weeks to climb all the way to the top, unless Robbins proves he's the better option entering his second year.

Related: Bengals Roster Breakdown: Brad Robbins will be feeling the pressure after every punt in training camp