Bengals 2025 Roster Breakdown: Chase Brown running full steam ahead as Cincinnati's starting tailback

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By John Sheeran | Last updated Aug 8, 2025 9:57 AM ET

Bengals roster breakdown is back! During the 99 days leading up to Cincinnati’s regular season opener against the Cleveland Browns, the player with the matching jersey number as days remaining will become the day’s highlighted player.

30 days remain until the Bengals’ first game of the 2025 season, and we're running today with No. 30 Chase Brown.

Chase Brown

Age: 25
Year: 3rd
Position: Running back
College: Illinois
Previous Teams: None
Jersey Number: 30

Brown enters his third season in the NFL and with the Bengals after being drafted 163rd overall in the fifth round of the 2023 NFL Draft. He spent four years at Illinois following his true freshman season at Western Michigan, playing 34 games (27 starts) for the Fighting Illini and rushing for 3,206 yards and 18 touchdowns. He took over as the bell cow back in 2022, carrying the rock 328 times (most in the Big Ten) and finished fourth in the nation with 1.643 yards.

Brown started out as a reserve behind Joe Mixon in the beginning of his rookie season and grew into Mixon's No. 2 by season's end. He entered 2024 as the No. 2 behind Zack Moss, but essentially took over as the main back after the first four weeks. Moss' season-ending injury in Week 8 sealed Brown's role and he nearly crossed 1,000 yards on the year before an injury of his own took him out at the end of Week 17. 28 games, 1,169 yards, and seven touchdowns later, Brown enters the 2025 season as the unquestioned starting back in Cincinnati's offense.

Contract Details

Brown enters the third year of his four-year, $4,126,156 rookie contract he signed in 2023. He will make a base salary of $1.03 million this year, which is also the total amount of cash he'll earn. When adding on his signing bonus proration of $71,539, his salary cap hit for the year is $1,101,539.

Roster Outlook

Brown is the face of the Bengals' run game. The offense adjusted last year to fully featuring him midseason after Moss' injury, but the entire offseason has been about revolving the offense with him in the backfield the vast majority of the time.

That's exciting for Brown, the offense, fantasy football managers, etc. The former Day 3 pick has fully climbed the depth chart before he's even eligible for a second contract, which will surely be a talking point next offseason if this season goes as planned.

Samaje Perine and Tahj Brooks will have roles to ensure Brown isn't ran into the ground, but Cincinnati will be leaning on him throughout the year on all three downs.

Projected role: Starting running back