Bengals 2025 Roster Breakdown: Quali Conley running with youth on his side during first training camp

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.

40 days remain until the Bengals' first game of the 2025 season, and we're handing the ball off to No. 40 Quali Conley.

Quali Conley

Age: 22
Year: 1st
Position: Running back
College: Arizona
Previous Teams: None
Jersey Number: 40

Conley enters his first season in the NFL after going undrafted during the 2025 NFL Draft. He played five total seasons of college football in only four years as he began his career playing in the spring of 2021 for Utah Tech, who delayed their 2020 season due to COVID-19. He had 400 rushing yards in the shortened five-game season, and after taking a backseat in the fall, he eclipsed the millennium mark for the first and only time in 2022 with 1,095 yards. He then transferred to San Jose State in 2023, rushing for 842 yards. He opted to end his collegiate career at Arizona in 2024, where he led the team with 745 yards on the ground.

Contract Details

Conley signed a three-year, $2.966 million college free agent deal in May following the draft. He earned a $1,000 signing bonus and can earn a non-guaranteed $840,000 base salary this season. His potential cash earnings for this year is $841,000. When adding his signing bonus proration of $333, his salary cap hit for the season is $840,333.

Roster Outlook

Conley is at the bottom of the running back depth chart that goes seven deep, but he is getting slightly more reps with Zack Moss out on the Non-Football Injury list at the moment. He needs to continue showing value in practice before making the most of potentially limited opportunities in the preseason. The downside of starters playing deeper into exhibitions is players like Conley, undrafted and desperate to prove themselves, naturally get fewer chances to do so.

Conley may not have a real chance to make the initial 53-man roster, but he is the youngest in the room and there's value to letting him develop on the practice squad. He'll need to make ever carry count in August to make that happen.

Roster odds: 5%
Projected role: Reserve running back

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
• No. 51: Isaiah Thomas
• No. 50: Shaka Heyward
• No. 49: Barrett Carter
• No. 48: Cal Adomitis
• No. 47: Shaquan Loyal
• No. 46: William Wagner
• No. 45: Maema Njongmeta
• No. 44: Demetrius Knight Jr.
• No. 43: Jaylen Key
• No. 42: Oren Burks
• No. 41: Nate Brooks