Bengals 2025 Roster Breakdown: Joe Giles-Harris returns to the locker he had for one week last season

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.

53 days remain until the Bengals' first game of the 2025 season, allowing us to get to know No. 53 Joe Giles-Harris a little more.

Joe Giles-Harris

Age: 28
Year: 6th
Position: Linebacker
College: Duke
Previous Teams: Jacksonville Jaguars (2019-20, 2024), Buffalo Bills (2021-22), New England Patriots (2023-24) 
Jersey Number: 53

Giles-Harris enters his sixth season in the NFL and first offseason with the Bengals after going undrafted drafted during the 2019 NFL Draft. He spent four years at Duke and played three seasons after redshirting as a freshman. 

Jacksonville signed Giles-Harris as a UDFA in 2019 and played him in a handful of games his rookie season. His most active season was in 2020 when he played in nine games. He was waived following the 2021 draft and the Bills picked him up not long after. He spent two seasons on Buffalo's practice squad before being released in 2023. He spent most of that offseason unsigned before joining the Patriots right before the start of the preseason. He spent nearly two full years on New England's practice squad before hitting the market once more. 

Cincinnati added Giles-Harris to its practice squad in Week 16 of last season, but he only spent a week in town before he was claimed by the Jags and played in the final two games of the year. Jacksonville did not re-sign him this offseason, which allowed the Bengals to do so in April. 

Contract Details

Giles-Harris signed a one-year, $1.1 million contract in April. His contract is comprised of just a $1.1 million base salary which is not guaranteed. It makes up his potential cash earnings and salary cap hit for the 2025 season. 

Roster Outlook

Giles-Harris' practice squad locker was only used for about three days last year, but now he's got his nameplate in the main area of the locker room for training camp and the preseason. He's got an uphill battle as one of four backers looking to grab at most two spots on the bottom of the position's depth chart, but returning to the practice squad is certainly on the table. Cincinnati clearly liked him enough last year to bring him in on a second occasion. 

Roster odds: 15%
Projected role: Reserve linebacker

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