Bengals News (6/27): 53-man roster projection

Another stab at projecting what the 2021 Bengals will look like.

Trags Projects the 53-man Bengals Roster 1.0
The Cincinnati Bengals have a roster that is suddenly filled with playmakers on both sides of the ball, and there’s likely going to be some decent contributors not making the final roster. How many running backs make the cut? Will solid veterans like Josh Toupu, Quinton Spain and Mike Thomas be handed pink slips before it’s all said and done? Here’s how Mike Petraglia sees the Bengals’ 53-man roster playing out for the upcoming season.

Bengals Booth Podcast: Stories about Anthony Muñoz, Cris Collinsworth, Ken Anderson, Bob Trumpy and more
t’s the “Good Old Days” edition of the Bengals Booth Podcast as Dan Hoard plays “10 Teammates in a Hat” with his broadcast partner Dave Lapham. Enjoy great stories about Anthony Muñoz, Cris Collinsworth, Ken Anderson, Bob Trumpy and more.

Bengals’ free-agent market drying with Trai Turner, Morgan Moses gone
Cincinnati continues to hope the return of line coach Frank Pollack provides the biggest boost of all along the offensive line. Still, it couldn’t hurt to keep browsing the market for even depth upgrades given the struggles of this unit over the years.

Around the NFL

So far, so good: A healthy Jadeveon Clowney is key to Browns’ defensive success
Jadeveon Clowney signed a one-year deal this offseason with the Browns, and he looked to be at full speed in camp despite recovering from knee surgery. The addition of hungry and motivated Clowney could potentially gives this Browns defense the upside to become a top 5-10 unit in the league after finishing just 19th in defensive efficiency last season.

The perils of the transfer portal: Purgatory is a very real thing
With the expectation the NCAA would pass a one-time transfer exception that would allow players to play immediately at their destination of choice, the 2020-21 cycle has seen a record number of transfers enter the portal. The debut portal cycle saw 1,720 players enter, per a source with direct knowledge of the portal. That number retracted to 1,695 in 2019-20. But for this offseason, that number has ballooned to 2,510 with more than one month remaining before the transfer portal annually resets August 1.

Tom Brady incredulous after a certain team passed on him in 2020: ‘You’re sticking with that (expletive)?’
Upon his first foray into free agency last year, Buccaneers QB Tom Brady couldn’t believe being passed over by one team in particular. It was among a few revelations from Brady during an ironically candid appearance on HBO’s The Shop.

Ranking NFL’s top linebackers entering 2021: Bobby Wagner retains top spot, Buccaneers boast two in top 10
Ranking the top 10 linebackers for this upcoming season. Do you agree with this ranking, which has a 49ers defender at the top spot?

Bears leaving Soldier Field? Illinois city one step closer to possibly stealing NFL team from downtown Chicago
The Chicago Bears made it pretty clear last week that the team is seriously considering a possible move to Arlington Heights and this week, the Illinois suburb made it clear that it would be more than happy to welcome the Bears. If the Bears are going to move out of Soldier Field anytime soon, a lot of things are going to have to happen and this was one of