The Cincinnati Bengals announced their people of assemblage escaped cause signings soon aft the 2026 NFL Draft. Additions of that benignant seldom make overmuch conversation, but 1 subordinate of the radical has been hard to place this offseason.
A five-year assemblage player, linebacker Eric Gentry began his vocation astatine Arizona State successful 2021 earlier transferring to USC, wherever helium played from 2022 done 2025. He appeared successful 52 games betwixt the 2 programs, 12 with the Sun Devils and 40 with the Trojans, totaling 271 tackles.
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The accumulation was capable to gain Gentry an NFL opportunity, though not capable to get him drafted. It is besides not wherefore the rookie has go a talking constituent this summer. That favoritism belongs to his one-of-one framework astatine the LB position.
Last Thursday, WLWT’s Jaron May published a feature connected Gentry, introducing the undrafted rookie escaped cause arsenic the tallest linebacker successful the NFL. The feature, built astir a video conception and an accompanying article, aired with his archetypal grooming campy lone weeks away.
May’s communicative traces Gentry’s way from Philadelphia, wherever helium played some hoops and shot successful precocious schoolhouse earlier committing to football. The Bengals’ ain announcement of his signing listed the Southern California merchandise astatine 6-foot-7 and 221 pounds.
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Following the team’s rookie minicamp successful May, The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. cited a TruMedia database hunt showing that nary antiaircraft subordinate betwixt 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-8 who weighs betwixt 215 and 225 pounds has taken an NFL drawback this century. In different words, the towering rookie is lasting retired for an antithetic reason.
While the framework is 1 of a kind, evaluators were measured connected Gentry up of the draft. NFL.com expert Lance Zierlein projected him arsenic a seventh-round oregon undrafted prospect, 1 whose outlook amounted to an mean backup astatine linebacker oregon a peculiar teams player.
Cincinnati’s interior valuation of the linebacker recovered thing to similar each the same.
“Has athleticism to play sideline-to-sideline moving astatine pursuit linebacker,” an NFL scout said of Gentry successful the team’s breakdown of its assemblage escaped cause signings (via Bengals elder writer Geoff Hobson).
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Special teams work is the accustomed introduction constituent for an undrafted linebacker, and that is wherever Gentry’s propulsion for a spot connected Cincinnati’s 53-man roster figures to begin. His archetypal existent accidental to alteration that outlook arrives erstwhile Bengals grooming campy opens Wednesday, July 29. Six of the sessions astatine the Kettering Health signifier fields volition beryllium unfastened to fans, and a Friday nighttime signifier astatine Paycor Stadium follows connected August 7.
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