Bengals cut former 3rd-round pick in latest roster moves

The Cincinnati Bengals are getting much healthier on the defensive side of the ball and needed to make roster moves to fit everyone on the 53 before Saturday’s game against the Baltimore Ravens.

To fit rookie McKinnley Jackson and former first-round pick Myles Murphy on the roster from injured reserve, the team waived defensive tackle Zach Carter.

Carter, a third-round pick in 2022 out of Florida, never found his footing as a strong rotational presence on the inside.

With rookie backups McKinnley Jackson and Kris Jenkins Jr. dealing with injuries this year, Carter actually played a career-high 58 percent of the defense’s snaps over the first four games of this season, earning a 44.3 PFF grade in the process.

With Jenkins, Jackson and veteran B.J. Hill back, the Bengals were comfortable making a move, even with Sheldon Rankins still on the mend.

Besides the two rookies, the Bengals could look to give Jay Tufele some snaps in the middle until Rankins is back.