Bengals 2025 Roster Breakdown: Samaje Perine has a familiar purpose in second go-around with Cincinnati

Originally posted on A to Z Sports | By John Sheeran | Last updated Aug 4, 2025 3:16 PM 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.

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

Samaje Perine

Age: 29
Year: 9th
Position: Running back
College: Oklahoma
Previous Teams: Washington Commanders (2017-18), Miami Dolphins (2019), Denver Broncos (2023), Kansas City Chiefs (2024)
Jersey Number: 34

Perine enters his ninth season in the NFL and seventh with the Bengals after being drafted 114th overall in the fourth round during the 2017 NFL Draft. He spent two years with Washington and was the starter for half of his rookie season before taking more of a back seat in 2018. He was waived during final cuts in 2019, which is when he first joined the Bengals as a waiver claim. He appeared in six games before being waived and finished the year with Miami.

Cincinnati brought Perine back in 2020 and kept him through the 2022 season, featuring him as Joe Mixon's partner in the backfield. He amassed 941 yards and six touchdowns during those three seasons and was critical in the Bengals' two playoff trips. Denver signed him as a free agent in 2023 but cut him one year into his two-year deal. Kansas City picked him up for the 2024 season and played him in all 20 games including the playoffs and Super Bowl LIX.

Contract Details

Perine signed back with the Bengals on a two-year, $3.6 million contract in March. He's already earned a $400,000 roster bonus that's being prorated over the life of the deal, and he can earn a base salary of $1.4 million this season. His potential cash earnings for 2025 amounts to $1.8 million, and his salary cap hit is $1.6 million.

Roster Outlook

Perine wasn't signed back just to be cut this month. Cincinnati plans to use him in a similar role as last time, taking the field on passing downs as a pass-protector and underneath target while also carrying the rock a few times per game. Chase Brown will be taking the vast majority of snaps after proving himself worthy of the starter's role last year, but Perine will be valuable to ensure he's not overused like he was late last year before injury took him out of the season finale.

The intriguing aspect to watch with Perine is how much his role changes throughout the year relative to rookie Tahj Brooks. The Bengals' sixth-round pick from this year's draft is right behind Perine on the initial depth chart and a promising preseason could close that gap even further. Perine will likely start out the season in the role he signed up for back in the spring, but the page could turn to Brooks if the younger back becomes too enticing to keep on the sidelines.

For now, it's just like old times with Perine back as RB2 in this offense.

Projected role: Backup running back