Cincinnati Bengals: Roster cut predictions, Defense

Predictions for which defensive players will make the Cincinnati Bengals final 53-man roster.

For fans of the Cincinnati Bengals and all the other teams across the league, it has been a long, arduous wait for the beginning of the 2017 NFL regular season. On Saturday, the dreaded day that many players fear finally comes: Cutdown day.

Unlike in previous years, there is only one day to cut rosters down. There used to be a midway cut before going all the way down to 53 men. That is no more as it’s from 90 to 53 on Saturday, Sept. 2 at 4:00 p.m. ET.

Some quick notes to take into account:

• The eventual number for the the overall (offense and defense) number will be 55, rather than 53. This is due to the currently-slated suspension of linebacker Vontaze Burfict (who as it stands will miss the first five games of the 2017 regular season because of an alleged illegal hit on a defenseless receiver on a passing route during Cincinnati’s preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs) and the one-game suspension for cornerback Adam Jones. While on suspension, players are not counted towards the 53-man roster.
• This exercise will be split up into two different posts; one to focus specifically on the offensive players, and another to focus on the defensive players (that would be this one).
• The defensive side will break into these grouping titles: defensive line, linebackers, defensive backs; also, though they don’t technically count as offensive players, the specialists (kicker, punter, long snapper) will be included here as well. Some players may not show up with a particular designation you would find given to them by official roster lists; instead, they’ll be placed where they should actually be expected to see the most time at during this season.

Without further ado, we begin the defensive side of things up front with the defensive linemen.