Bengals 2025 Roster Breakdown: Jalen Davis quietly enters sixth year backing up Cincinnati's cornerbacks

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By John Sheeran | Last updated Aug 3, 2025 7:54 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.

35 days remain until the Bengals’ first game of the 2025 season, giving us a day to profile No. 35 Jalen Davis.

Jalen Davis

Age: 29
Year: 8th
Position: Cornerback
College: Utah State
Previous Teams: Miami Dolphins (2018), Arizona Cardinals (2019-20)
Jersey Number: 35

Davis enters his eighth season in the NFL and sixth with the Bengals after going undrafted during the 2018 NFL Draft. He spent four years at Utah State and played in 49 games. The Dolphins initially signed him as a UDFA following the draft and kept him on the practice squad for most of his rookie season while elevating him for three games. He spent 2019 and most of 2020 in Arizona, playing a handful of games for the Cards, before ending up in Cincinnati in the middle of the season.

The Bengals have kept Davis in some capacity for the last five years and have played him in 52 games since 2020. He's mainly backed up the nickelback position on defense and has contributed 447 special teams snaps in that timeframe as well. He played in 44 games from 2021-23 but only appeared in two games in 2024 as he spent the entire season on the practice squad.

Contract Details

Davis signed a one-year, $1.17 million contract with Cincinnati this offseason. His potential cash earnings for the year is that $1.17 million figure, but his salary cap hit for the season is $1.03 million. Davis is a vested veteran, so his deal qualified for the Veteran Salary Benefit, allowing his cap hit to be lower than the total value of the deal.

Roster Outlook

Davis has lived on the border of the cornerback room since arriving in 2020. He's been a part of winning football teams in Cincinnati, and the reason why he's still here is because he plays well when his number is called. He's also pushing 30 years old as a cornerback and the group is as deep as it's been in some time.

The preseason has always been Davis' time to shine and this month will be no different, especially now that the defense no longer has Mike Hilton manning the slot on defense. Davis' experience as a reserve there could bode well for him, but opportunity is open for anyone else to back up either Dax Hill or Josh Newton depending on how defensive coordinator Al Golden finalizes this grouping.

Davis may not be favored to make the team, but counting him out after all these years is not in my best interest.

Roster odds: 35%
Projected role: Reserve cornerback