Bengals 2025 Roster Breakdown: Isaiah Thomas in for more practices against the one team he's sacked

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.

51 days remain until the Bengals' first game of the 2025 season, so No. 51 Isaiah Thomas comes into out focus.

Isaiah Thomas

Age: 26
Year: 4th
Position: Defensive end
College: Oklahoma
Previous Teams: Cleveland Browns (2022-23), Detroit Lions (2024)
Jersey Number: 51

Thomas enters his fourth season in the NFL and is in the midst of his first full offseason with the Bengals after being drafted 223rd overall in the seventh round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He spent five years at Oklahoma and played in 43 games in four seasons. 

Cleveland drafted Thomas and kept him on the active roster for his entire rookie season. He played in 10 games and his first and only sack of his career so far came against Joe Burrow. The Browns waived him leading up to the 2023 season but retained him on the practice squad where he was kept the entire year. Cleveland waived him again in 2024, and the Bengals added him to their practice squad.

Thomas stayed in Cincinnati for well over a month before he was signed to Detroit's active roster. He appeared in two games for the Lions and spent three weeks with the club before being waived. Detroit added him back to its practice squad days later and had him for another month before releasing him. The Bengals added him back to their practice squad for the final two weeks of the season. 

Contract Details

Thomas signed a two-year, $1.945 million deal with Cincinnati upon rejoining the practice squad last season. His potential cash earnings and salary cap hit for the year is $1.03 million.

Roster Outlook

Thomas joined the Bengals last year when the defensive end position was hindered by injuries. Now it's hindered by contract disputes. The former seventh-rounder isn't going to be taking any snaps in Trey Hendrickson's place, but Shemar Stewart's absence on top of Hendrickson's does open up reps for Thomas with the third-string line. 

Two other clubs have rostered and played Thomas in regular season action. He's talented enough to make a team, and depending on how the preseason shakes out, it could be this one. Odds favor him coming back to the practice squad a little bit more. 

Roster odds: 15%
Projected role: Reserve defensive end

Previous Player Profiles

• No. 99: Myles Murphy
• No. 98: T.J. Slaton Jr.
• No. 97: Shemar Stewart
• No. 96: Cam Sample
• No. 95: Howard Cross III
• No. 94: Eric Gregory
• No. 93: McKinnley Jackson
• No. 92: B.J. Hill
• No. 91: Trey Hendrickson
• No. 90: Kris Jenkins Jr.
• No. 89: Drew Sample
• No. 88: Mike Gesicki
• No. 87: Tanner Hudson
• No. 86: Kole Taylor
• No. 85: Cam Grandy
• No. 84: Tanner McLachlan
• No. 83: Erick All Jr.
• No. 82: Mitchell Tinsley
• No. 81: Jermaine Burton
• No. 80: Andrei Iosivas
• No. 79: Andrew Coker
• No. 77: Caleb Etienne
• No. 76: Devin Cochran
• No. 75: Orlando Brown Jr.
• No. 74: Jalen Rivers
• No. 73: Andrew Stueber
• No. 71: Amarius Mims
• No. 69: Dante Barnett
• No. 68: Seth McLaughlin
• No. 67: Cordell Volson
• No. 66: Tashawn Manning
• No. 65: Matt Lee
• No. 64: Ted Karras
• No. 63: Dylan Fairchild
• No. 62: Lucas Patrick
• No. 61: Cody Ford
• No. 60: Jaxson Kirkland
• No. 59: Craig Young
• No. 58: Joseph Ossai
• No. 56: Raymond Johnson III
• No. 55: Logan Wilson
• No. 53: Joe Giles-Harris
• No. 52: Cedric Johnson