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          Cincinnati Bengals' 53-man roster projection features new faces for playoff push

          • Ben Baby, ESPN Staff WriterJul 28, 2021, 10:00 AM
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              Ben Baby covers the Cincinnati Bengals for ESPN. He joined the company in July 2019. Prior to ESPN, he worked for various newspapers in Texas, most recently at The Dallas Morning News where he covered college sports. He provides daily coverage of the Bengals for ESPN.com, while making appearances on SportsCenter, ESPN's NFL shows and ESPN Radio programs. A native of Grapevine, Texas, he graduated from the University of North Texas with a bachelor's degree in journalism. He is an adjunct journalism professor at Southern Methodist University and a member of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA).
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          CINCINNATI -- The Cincinnati Bengals open training camp on Wednesday at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati. The Bengals finished the 2020 season with a 4-11-1 record to finish last in the AFC West for the third straight year. Cincinnati is looking for its first playoff berth since 2015 and hasn't won a playoff game since January 1991.

          The Bengals return 17 players who were starters from last year's team. Head coach Zac Taylor is entering his third year with the Bengals. The coordinators are Brian Callahan (offense), Lou Anarumo (defense) and Darrin Simmons (special teams).

          Here's a 53-man roster projection:

          QUARTERBACK (2): Joe Burrow, Brandon Allen

          Allen's performances after Burrow went down with his knee injury, specifically in leading the team to victory over Houston, were enough to make him the backup quarterback at the end of last season. With Burrow on track to play Week 1, Cincinnati doesn't need a third quarterback on the 53-man roster.