The Cincinnati Bengals quietly made a few roster moves over the last few days that had nothing to do with the return of quarterback Joe Burrow.
One of those Bengals roster moves, too, is a big one.
While announcing the elevation of linebacker Brian Asamoah II to the active roster, the Bengals also revealed the addition of Antwaun Powell-Ryland to the practice squad.
A small note, yet a big one, too.
Powell-Ryland, after all, is a sixth-round rookie edge rusher out of Virginia Tech who had strong production in college en route to being a first-team all-ACC player.
At face value, the Bengals could really use the edge rushing depth, with Isaiah Foskey the only other notable one on the practice squad. Same deal on the active roster, where depth names like Cedric Johnson and Cam Sample aren’t necessarily standing out on limited snaps.
Beyond that, it’s notable to see the Bengals making good future-minded additions to the roster, with Powell-Ryland a candidate to come up to the active roster. And at a time when first-rounder Shemar Stewart is off to a poor start after alarmingly low production numbers in college, perhaps this is a sign of the team adjusting how it seeks out pressure creators for the future, too.
We had a 4th round grade on Antwaun Powell-Ryland in the stacked 2025 EDGE group.
From a prospect profile perspective, he is probably the second most talented pass rusher on their roster already.
Ideally, Browns coach Kevin Stefanski would have answered the question with a firm, “No,” leaving no doubt about the near-term future of one of the team’s breakout players. That would be fourth-year pass-rusher Alex Wright, who has 3.0 sacks on the season, behind Myles Garrett and Maliek Collins.
Wright has nine tackles for a loss this season, which is as many as he had in total in his NFL career entering the year. He has a PFF grade of 88.7, which ranks No. 8 among pass-rushers in the NFL this year. But he left Sunday’s loss to the Jets with a quad injury and is on the team’s injury report heading into the Week 11 game against Baltimore.
The severity of Wright’s injury has not been much of a topic in Cleveland, until Wednesday, when Stefanski was asked about Wright possibly hitting the injured reserve–which would force him out for four games.
Said Stefanski: “We’ll see.”
While the Browns are just 2-7 and not much of a threat to make a run in the AFC this year, Wright certainly has much at stake this season. He will be a free agent next spring, and at 25 years old, could be in position for a nice payday.
At Spotrac his market value is listed at $14.8 million per year, and he is slated for a four-year, $59.3 million contract. That could even be undervalued, considering how Wright has played and the way the league’s salary cap is slated to rise.
Wright played just four games in 2024, as a torn triceps injury ended his season in October.
Wright has worked well in tandem with Garrett, and he has shown himself to be a piece to build around.
At The Athletic last month before the trade deadline, it was noted that Wright’s future might be tied to that of Isaiah McGuire: “The Browns might want to keep and eventually extend Wright. … But defensive end Isaiah McGuire is still under contract through 2026, and assuming Myles Garrett remains in the long-term plans, the team probably has to choose between Wright and McGuire at some point fairly soon.
“If a market for pass-rush help develops over the next week, the Browns can try to get something semi-significant for Wright. If they don’t trade Wright, they can eventually sign him to an extension.”
Wright will, no doubt, be missed in Week 11 if he can’t go. The Ravens have won three straight games and have Lamar Jackson back at quarterback, which is trouble for the Browns. Jackson threw for four touchdowns in the first meeting of the teams, a 41-17 win, but missed three games with injuries in October.
In general, the Ravens are getting healthier.
“I’d say, some new faces in there,” Stefanski said. “Some guys that were injured, didn’t play in our first game, and now are back. Had the trade there, a couple trades there on defense, so moving some pieces around to different spots. So, just evolving I would say.”