1 of 5 | Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Mitchell Tinsley (82) runs after a pass from quarterback Jack Browning in the second quarter of a preseason game against the Washington Commanders on Monday at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo
Mitchell Tinsley’s roster status remains in limbo, but a stellar preseason and endorsement from Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow could aid his effort.
Burrow was among several Bengals players to praise Tinsley after he erupted for five catches for 73 yards and two scores in the Bengals’ 31-17 victory over the Commanders on Monday in Landover, Md.
Tinsley, who appeared in two games for the Commanders in 2023 and also worked on their practice squad, is among those vying to claim one of 53 spots on the Bengals’ final active roster. Based on Burrow’s comments and his stellar showing, he has momentum toward that goal.
“I sure hope so,” Burrow told reporters, when asked if Tinsley will make the roster.
Tinsley later said Burrow’s comments “meant a lot,” but he owed his opportunities to teammates and coaches. NFL rosters must be reduced to 53 players by 4 p.m. EDT Aug. 26.
“It means a lot,” Tinsley said of Burrow’s support. “We are getting to where I feel like I have a lot of goals I want to accomplish. I’m finally getting close to where I want to be.”
Charlie Jones, Jermaine Burton, Jamoi Mayes, Jordan Moore, Rashod Owens, Kendric Pyror, Cole Burgess, Isaiah Williams are among the other wide receivers behind starters Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Andrei Iosivas on the Bengals’ unofficial depth chart.
“I told him if he keeps doing that, he’s going to have an opportunity to pay with the 1’s [first team offense],” Chase said of Tinsley on Monday’s ESPN broadcast.
“He keeps going and playing his game at the highest level, he is going to be good.”
Tinsley lined up with Burrow and the first-team offense throughout the first half. His first catch, which went for a 12-yard gain, came off a throw from backup quarterback Jake Browning midway through the second quarter.
Tinsley went on to snag respective 23- and 4-yard catches about a minute before halftime. He found the end zone for his first score with about 30 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
Browning caught a shotgun snap before stepping back and lofting a pass toward the left corner of the end zone on that play. Tinsley made a terrific adjustment, twisting his body and fighting off cornerback Bobby Price’s hands as he pulled in the 13-yard score.
Chase screamed in celebration of the effort, but Tinsley wasn’t finished.
The Bengals got the ball back quickly when linebacker Barrett Carter intercepted Commanders backup quarterback Sam Hartman on the first play of the next drive.
Browning caught the next snap, dropped back in the pocket and unleashed another deep toss to his right. Tinsley completed that play with an excellent leap over cornerback Car’lin Vigers.
That strong-handed snatch drew praise from ESPN broadcasters Troy Aikman and Joe Buck.
“He has definitely shown that he is going to be on a roster this year,” Aikman said of Tinsley. “If not Cincinnati, it’ll be somewhere else. But if you’re Washington watching this guy, you could say ‘we could sure use him with the Terry McLaurin [hold-in/injury] situation.”
Jones totaled four catches for 32 yards, including a 4-yard touchdown toss from Burrow in the second quarter, for the Bengals. Starting running back Chase Brown scored the Bengals’ first touchdown on the first drive of the night.
Bengals kicker Evan McPherson added a 54-yard field goal in the final minutes.
Burrow completed 9 of 14 passes for 62 yards and a score over three drives. Browning completed 16 of 25 passes for 159 yards and two scores. Desmond Ridder completed his lone attempt for seven yards in the win.
Starting quarterback Jayden Daniels scored on a 14-yard run for the Commanders’ first score, but was sent to the bench after one drive. Running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt and scored on a 26-yard run in the loss. Veteran kicker Matt Gay added a 27-yard field goal in the third quarter for the Commanders’ final points of the night.
Tinsley, who joined the Commanders as an undrafted free agent in 2023, signed a reserve/futures contract with the Bengals in February.
His resume still needs filled out at the NFL level, as he didn’t manage to make a catch during his two games of action as a rookie. He hauled in one of his two targets for three yards in the Bengals’ preseason opener, a 34-27 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Aug. 7 in Philadelphia.
“All he does is work,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said on the ESPN broadcast. “We made him a captain [Monday] because all he does is work. All he does is do things the way we want them done. He’s been out there. He’s rewarded himself with the opportunity and he’s capitalized on that. It’s as simple as that.”
Multi-year contracts likely cement the roster spots of several Bengals pass catchers, including Chase and Higgins, who signed for a combined $276 million this off-season. Iosivas and Jones, who joined the Bengals in the 2023 NFL Draft, are entering the third season of their four-year rookie deals.
Burton, a third-round pick last year, has three years remaining on his pact. He hauled in just four catches for 107 yards during his rookie campaign and is out with an undisclosed injury.
Williams, who joined the Bengals off waivers in November, is signed through 2026. Moore, Mayes and Owens signed three-year deals with the Bengals this off-season as undrafted free agents.
Burgess and Pryor, who previously spent time on the Bengals practice squad, are on one-year deals.
NFL teams often opt to keep backup wide receivers who excel on special teams to allow for more roster flexibility. The Bengals kept six wide receivers on their initial 53-man roster the last two seasons.
They kept just five in 2022 and 2021, but entered their 2020 campaign with seven wide receivers.
Tinsley led all Bengals wide receivers in offensive snaps (34) against the Commanders. He was in for three (12%) special teams snaps. Jones and Williams were the only wide receivers with more special teams snaps. They totaled four apiece.
Jones led Bengals wide receivers in offensive snaps (25) against the Eagles, when starters saw limited action. Burton (19) and Moore (18) also were in for more offensive snaps than Tinsley (17) in that matchup. But Tinsley led Bengals wide receivers in special teams snaps (seven) in the preseason opener.
“Baller,” Taylor said of Tinsley. “He just works hard. He’s become a guy that everybody really respects in the locker room. I don’t know that I’ve ever heard him speak. … He just goes out there and just works, and we respect that. And again, he created the opportunities for himself. He’s done enough in practice to where we wanted to put him in positions to be at the point of attack when he was in the game there, and he rewarded himself with touchdowns and catches and extending drives, and he’s someone that’s reliable for the quarterbacks in August.
“So just proud of him. This is the last team he was with, if I’m not mistaken, so probably a neat situation for him to come back on this field and do what he just did.”
The Bengals will host the Indianapolis Colts in their preseason finale at 1 p.m. EDT Saturday in Cincinnati. They will take on the Cleveland Browns in their regular-season opener Sept. 7 in Cleveland.
