The Cincinnati Bengals are thinner in the trenches following the loss of Blake Freeland
Per The Athletic’s Zack Rosenblatt in a post on X on November 3, The Jets are signing OT Blake Freeland off Bengals practice squad” amid their roster moves just ahead of the official start of Week 9.
NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein called the 6-foot-8, 305-pound Freeland a “skyscraping” presence along the offensive line before the 2023 draft
The Athletic’s Dane Burgler noted that Freeland played quarterback in high school.
“Freeland has an impressive athletic background for his size and is still figuring out how to unlock his natural gifts. However, he is raw as he struggles to sustain blocks or drop his pad level to strengthen his base, often leaving him on the ground,” Brugler wrote in 2023.
“Overall, Freeland’s inexperience and the lesserdeveloped aspects of his game (leverage points, play strength, etc.) will be exposed by NFL talent, but he has the feet, length and upside to warrant being a midround draft pick. He is a work in progress who should eventually compete for an NFL team’s No. 3 tackle spot and potentially more.”
Bengals Lose OL Blake Freeland to Jets
The Indianapolis Colts selected Freeland in the fourth round with the 106th overall pick in the 2023 draft.
Head coach Zach Taylor and the Bengals signed him in September after the Colts waived him.
He has played in 25 regular-season games, with nine starts, all with the Colts. Freeland’s most recent appearance was in Week 18 of the 2024 season against the Jacksonville Jaguars. His most recent start was in Week 16 of the 2023 campaign against the Atlanta Falcons.
The Bengals are now at 15 players on their practice squad. That gives them two slots to add players following the loss of Freeland, who notably did not have to accept the Jets’ offer.
He faces a greater opportunity on the Jets’ 53-man roster.
Freeland replaces the injured Max Mitchell, who the Jets placed on injured reserve. Mitchell was sparingly used on offense this season. However, he had a role on special teams for New York. Freeland figures to help fill that void once he gets up to speed.
Bengals Lose ‘Skyscraping’ Converted Quarterback to AFC Rival