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Cincinnati Bengals DST

Player Outlook
The Bengals DST was rarely good in 2025 and should not be drafted in 2026. While they added defensive linemen Dexter Lawrence, Jonathan Allen, Boye Mafe and rookie Cashius Howell, plus defensive backs Kyler Dugger, Ja'Sir Taylor and Bryan Cook, this unit still has a lot to prove before we trust them in our Fantasy lineups. Kudos to the Bengals for loading up on defense in free agency and the NFL Draft. Perhaps the DST could emerge as a Fantasy starter at some point this season.

Fantasy News

  • Bengals' Shemar Stewart: Out several weeks

    Rotowire
    Stewart will miss several weeks due to a hyperextended knee, head coach Zac Taylor revealed Thursday, Charlie Goldsmith of FOX19 Cincinnati reports. Stewart was carted off Wednesday due to a left leg injury. The 2025 first-round pick didn't escape unscathed, but this outcome is a positive one given initial fears of a long-term absence. Stewart has a chance to recover before the Bengals kick off regular-season play Sept. 13 against the Buccaneers.
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  • Bengals' Josh Newton: Competing for starting role

    Rotowire
    Newton (hamstring) is expected to compete for the Bengals' starting cornerback role, Chris Roling of USA Today reports. Newton is seemingly past the hamstring injury that forced him to miss the final two regular-season games of the 2025 campaign. The 25-year-old is competing with Jalen Davis, Ja'Sir Taylor and Bralyn Lux for the starting job.
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  • Bengals' DJ Turner: Scuffles with Chase in practice

    Rotowire
    Turner (calf) was active in Wednesday's training camp practice, mixing it up with Ja'Marr Chase during 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills, Geoff Hobson of the Bengals' official site reports. Turner suffered a calf injury during the Bengals' regular-season finale against the Browns in 2025, but he was fully active in Wednesday's practice, with the 2023 second-rounder getting into the face of Chase before the two players were separated. Turner downplayed the confrontation, telling reporters after practice "brothers fight all the time. Nothing else to it." He's entering the final year of his four-year rookie deal, but it's unclear whether the talented corner and the Bengals will reach an agreement on a contract extension before the start of the 2026 regular season. Turner finished 2025 with 40 tackles (28 solo), 18 pass defenses (including two interceptions), two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery across 17 regular-season games.
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  • Bengals' Shemar Stewart: Carted off field with leg injury

    Rotowire
    Stewart was carted off the field after sustaining a left leg injury in Wednesday's practice, Ben Baby of ESPN.com reports. Stewart was injured on the first day of training camp and is now on crutches and has his leg in a brace as he awaits the results of further testing following the injury. Stewart was the Bengals' first-round pick, at No. 17 overall, last year and appeared in just eight regular-season games due to ankle and knee injuries. His knee appeared to buckle in practice Wednesday. Stewart is expected to help replace the snaps vacated by Trey Hendrickson in Cincinnati this season.
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  • Bengals' B.J. Hill: Lands on active/PUP list

    Rotowire
    The Bengals placed Hill (undisclosed) on the active/PUP list Saturday. Hill will be eligible to participate in practice once healthy, but he will be limited to sideline work until then. Once healthy, the 31-year-old is expected to serve as a rotational defensive tackle during the upcoming campaign.
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  • Falcons' Devonnsha Maxwell: Finds work in Atlanta

    Rotowire
    The Falcons signed Maxwell on Wednesday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. Maxwell is coming off a productive season with the DC Defenders of the UFL in 2026, posting 23 total tackles, including 4.0 sacks, across 10 regular-season games. Now in Atlanta, he's expected to compete for a reserve interior defensive lineman role.
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  • Bengals' Myles Murphy: Won't have option year picked up

    Rotowire
    The Bengals are declining Murphy's fifth-year option for 2027, Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer reports. Murphy set career-best marks across the board in 2025 with 52 tackles (28 solo), including 5.5 sacks, but that wasn't enough to convince Bengals brass to pick up the 2023 first-round pick's fifth-year option. He remains under contract in 2026 on the fourth year of his rookie deal, and Conway adds that the Bengals are still hoping to work out a long-term extension to keep Murphy in Cincinnati despite choosing not to pick up his fifth-year option.
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  • Bengals' Landon Robinson: Lands with Cincinnati

    Rotowire
    The Bengals selected Robinson in the seventh round of the 2026 NFL Draft, 226th overall. Robinson (6-foot, 287 pounds), out of Navy, will add depth to Cincinnati's interior defensive line, which got a tremendous boost after the team traded the No. 10 overall pick to trade for Dexter Lawrence from the Giants and also inked Jonathan Allen to a two-year deal in free agency. Though undersized, Robinson boasts impressive strength and is capable of manufacturing pressure, so it wouldn't be shocking to see him carve out a rotational gig early in his NFL career.
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  • Bengals' Cashius Howell: Heading to Cincinnati

    Rotowire
    The Bengals selected Howell in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft, 41st overall. Howell spent the last two seasons of his five-year college career with Texas A&M. He broke out in his senior year in 2025, when he was a Unanimous All-American and the SEC Defensive Player of the Year after posting 31 tackles, including an SEC-leading 11.0 sacks, one forced fumble and six pass defenses across 13 games. Howell served as a boundary edge rusher with the Aggies, and while his shorter reach could be a concern at the NFL level, he has the quick initial burst to give opposing tackles plenty of trouble and the versatility to drop into coverage to mask blitz pressure. Howell will join a new-look Bengals defensive front that includes Super Bowl LX champion Boye Mafe, Myles Murphy, Jonathan Allen and the recently acquired Dexter Lawrence.
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  • Bengals' Kris Jenkins: Playing time in jeopardy

    Rotowire
    Jenkins, who missed the last three games of the regular season due to an ankle injury, will have a hard time earning meaningful playing time in the wake of the Bengals trading for Dexter Lawrence, Charlie Goldsmith of Charlie's Chalkboard reports. The Bengals have traded for Lawrence, signed Jonathan Allen and retained B.J. Hill as interior defensive linemen, and they still currently employ T.J. Slaton. Jenkins hasn't shined in his first two years with the Bengals after getting drafted in the second round from Michigan, tallying a combined 67 tackles and 4.5 sacks.
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  • Bengals' Dexter Lawrence: Gets $28 million extension

    Rotowire
    Lawrence and the Bengals agreed to terms on a one-year, $28 million contract extension Sunday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports. Saturday's trade with the Giants -- which saw the No. 10 pick of the 2026 NFL Draft move to New York -- was finalized Sunday after Lawrence passed his physical, and the extension ensures that the 2019 first-rounder will be under contract with the Bengals through the next three seasons. The Clemson product is looking to bounce back from a disappointing 2025 regular season, when he tallied 31 tackles (14 solo), including 0.5 sacks, all of which were career lows. Lawrence was named to the NFL's All-Pro Second Team in both 2022 and 2023, and if he can return to that level, it would be a massive boost to a Bengals defensive front that also includes Jonathan Allen, Myles Murphy and Boye Mafe.
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  • 49ers' Cameron Sample: Joining 49ers defense

    Rotowire
    Sample has agreed to a one-year deal with the 49ers, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports. Sample, who the Bengals took in the fourth round of the 2021 Draft, recorded 17 tackles and two sacks in 14 regular-season games (including two starts) for Cincinnati in 2025. With San Francisco, the Tulane product will bolster his new team's defensive line depth, though Sample will remain off the IDP radar unless he sees an uptick in playing time in his new locale.
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  • Bengals' Ja'Sir Taylor: Headed to Cincinnati

    Rotowire
    Taylor and the Bengals agreed on a one-year contract Thursday. Taylor will head to Cincinnati after splitting his 2025 campaign between the Chargers and Jets, compiling 21 total tackles (12 solo) and a pass defensed over 17 regular-season contests. The 26-year-old will provide the Bengals with an additional experienced option at slot cornerback behind Jalen Davis and another option on special teams in 2026.
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  • Bengals' Kyle Dugger: Set to sign with Bengals

    Rotowire
    Dugger is in line to sign a one-year deal with the Bengals,Adam Schefter of ESPN reports. In 16 regular-season games (seven with the Patriots and nine with the Steelers) in 2025, the 2020 second-rounder recorded a career-low 59 total tackles, as well as a sack and two interceptions. As Charlie Goldsmith of the Dayton Daily News notes, Dugger brings both ample starting experience and positional versatility to a Bengals defense that can use both.
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  • Broncos' Tycen Anderson: Joining Denver

    Rotowire
    Anderson agreed to a deal with the Broncos on Thursday, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. The fifth-round pick of the Bengals in 2022 has seen a grand total of 64 defensive snaps in his NFL career, though he has become a consistent special-teams player, seeing over 300 snaps in that role in each of the last two seasons. Anderson should compete for a depth safety and special-teams role in Denver, too.
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  • Colts' Cam Taylor-Britt: Gets contract from Colts

    Rotowire
    Indianapolis signed Taylor-Britt (foot) to a one-year contract Tuesday, Tom Pelissero of NFL Network reports. Taylor-Britt spent his first four seasons with Cincinnati and started 40 of his 47 regular-season games during that span. However, he started just two of his eight appearances last year and missed the rest of the campaign due to a foot injury he suffered in mid-November. Taylor-Britt is presumably back to full health and will look to carve out a role in the Colts' secondary, which is led by cornerbacks Sauce Gardner (calf) and Charvarius Ward (concussion), though the latter is said to be considering retirement.
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  • Bills' Geno Stone: Heading to Buffalo

    Rotowire
    Stone signed a one-year contract with the Bills on Friday, NFL reporter Jordan Schultz reports. Stone is coming off a career year in 2025 with the Bengals, when he logged a career-best 104 tackles (65 solo), including 2.0 sacks, and four pass defenses (one interception and one pick-six) across 17 regular-season games. He was a starting safety in each of his two years in Cincinnati, but Stone is not guaranteed to start in Buffalo, with his primary competition coming from Cole Bishop and C.J. Gardner-Johnson.
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  • Dolphins' Marco Wilson: Lands with Miami

    Rotowire
    The Dolphins signed Wilson (hamstring) to a one-year contract Thursday, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports. Wilson was a fourth-round pick by the Cardinals in the 2021 Draft and spent nearly three full seasons with Arizona before being waived in December of 2023. He then spent the past two seasons with the Patriots and Bengals. Wilson appeared in just four regular-season contests last season before being placed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury. He remained there for the remainder of the campaign. Wilson, who will presumably be past his hamstring issue by the time the Dolphins take the field, will compete for a job in the team's secondary.
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  • Ravens' Trey Hendrickson: Set to sign with Ravens

    Rotowire
    Hendrickson (hip/pelvis) is slated to sign a four-year, $112 million contract with the Ravens, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports. After a trade agreement that would have sent star defensive end Maxx Crosby (from the Raiders) to the Ravens in exchange for two first-round picks fell apart, it didn't take long for the team to pivot to adding another impact pass rusher. Hendrickson is recovering from December core-muscle surgery, but he'll presumably be past the issue once Baltimore's offseason program begins. In seven games with the Bengals in 2025, the 31-year-old recorded 16 tackles and four sacks, but in both of the two seasons prior to that Hendrickson racked up 17.5 sacks.
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  • Jets' Joseph Ossai: Joining Jets on three-year deal

    Rotowire
    Ossai (ankle) agreed to a three-year, $36 million contract with the Jets on Monday, Brian Costello of the New York Post reports. Ossai has recovered from the ankle injury that sidelined him down the stretch for the Bengals in 2025. He had 5.0 sacks in 14 games prior to the injury, tying his career high from the previous season. Ossai's new deal, which includes $22.5 million in guaranteed money, can become official Wednesday at the start of the new league year. He projects as a starter at defensive end for the Jets at this point, though that could change if the team adds a pass rusher with the second pick in the 2026 NFL Draft.
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