Bengals Release Former Second-Round Pick Amid Sweeping Roster Cuts

As rosters start to get cut down for the start of the regular season, the Cincinnati Bengals have announced that they are waiving 11 players. Among the players was former second-round draft pick Jackson Carmen.

The big offensive lineman out of Clemson never lived up to the hype that he entered the league with, leading to this decision. Getting rid of Carmen has been a long time coming for the Bengals but with the better depth that the team has at the position, they were finally able to afford to let him go.

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In college, he helped the Clemson Tigers win the College Football Playoff in 2018, playing in 13 games as a true freshman. His draft stock started to rise and eventually landed him being named to the Second-Team All-ACC team at Clemson in his junior season.

During his rookie season with the Bengals, Carmen played a total of 462 snaps, allowing zero sacks. But he was called for five penalties and earned a Pro Football Focus grade of 56.3 for the year.

He showed some flashes but never performed up to par. The Bengals decided to look elsewhere to see if they could field a better offensive line.

In his second season, Carmen got beat out by rookie Cordell Volson for the starting left guard position. In addition, the Bengals signed veteran Alex Cappa for the right guard spot, leaving Carmen on the bench.

He barely played until injuries took over the team late in the season. Carmen looked better but still had some shakiness to his game.

Last year, he barely saw the field, only playing in 12 snaps the entire season. This led many to believe that his days in Cincinnati were numbered.

In addition to Carmen, Cincinnati also waived wide receiver Hakeem Butler, running back Noah Cain, defensive end Andre Carter, linebacker Aaron Casey, safety Michael Dowell, cornerback Allan George, wide receiver Kwamie Lassiter II, quarterback Rocky Lombardi, guard Eric Miller, and defensive tackle Joshua Pryor.

Among the players waived, George may be the most surprising. He provided Cincinnati with some nice depth in the secondary, even if he hardly played.

The Bengals are gearing up for the start of the season next weekend when they welcome the New England Patriots to Paycor Stadium on Sept. 8. Cincinnati is looking to get themselves back to the postseason after missing last year while dealing with multiple injuries.

With a healthy Joe Burrow back under center, the Bengals like their chances to compete with the other elite teams in the AFC.

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