Cincinnati Bengals receiver Mitchell Tinsley’s bid to make the roster got exceedingly more likely following Monday night’s performance in a 31-17 win over the Washington Commanders.
A former undrafted free agent, Tinsley appeared in two games for the Commanders in 2023 and spent all of last year on the Washington practice squad. He signed a futures deal in Cincy this offseason.
Monday night, Tinsley strengthened his case for a roster spot by catching two touchdowns and leading the Bengals with five catches for 73 yards in the first half.
“Baller,” coach Zac Taylor said of Tinsley following the contest. “Yeah, 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. Maybe someone can get him tonight. 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 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.”
Taylor actually made Tinsley a captain for the game against his former club. Then, the wideout went out and showed what Washington was missing.
While counting stats are mostly fluff in the preseason, Tinsley showed skills that can translate once the real games start. The 25-year-old demonstrated excellent ball skills, an ability to find space behind defenders, and a high-pointing ability. On his second score to close the half, he displayed excellent awareness, toe-tapping to put the Bengals up 28-14 before the break.
Tinsley downplayed the performance as nothing more than doing his job.
“It’s a step in the right direction, but for me, I try not to focus on all that,” Tinsley said after the game. “For me, I know I put a lot of work in in the offseason and I put a lot of work into my craft. Really, it all just came down to me coming out here and executing."
Quarterback Joe Burrow was asked if he thought Tinsley’s performance secured him a roster spot.
“Sure hope so,” the star QB responded.
The Bengals have a deep wideout corps, led by Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Andrei Iosivas. 2024 third-round pick Jermaine Burton is a wild card, and 2023 fourth-round pick Charlie Jones is another depth option. The question is how many wide receivers Cincinnati keeps and whether Tinsley has done enough to crack into the crew.
He showed Monday night that even if it’s not in Cincinnati, he deserves to be on someone’s active roster.