One interesting detail to this offseason’s structure the Cincinnati Bengals will have to deal with is a revamped way cut-down days are handled this summer.
New this year is the presence of three roster cut-down days this summer. The first asks teams to cut the roster down to 85 players by August 17 at 4 p.m. ET. The second, 80 players by August 24. Then finally, the third is the 53-man cutoff by August 31.
It’s not the first time there have been multiple cut-down stages — there were two cutoff points through the 2016 season. But it is the first teams will have to handle this in three stages.
For the Bengals, it adds a little extra weight to the preseason games for the back-of-roster players. They might only get one game — instead of two or three — to make their case now.
It’s a little thing, but something to keep in mind as the Bengals host positional battles all over the depth chart this summer.
