Bengals Roster Breakdown: Nate Gilliam has more competition to backup Cincinnati's interior offensive line

Throughout the summer leading up to the regular season, we will go through the entire 2024 Cincinnati Bengals roster. Every single day until the season opener against the New England Patriots, we will break down a player on the roster including his background, contract status, and path towards making the team.

Today, we discuss center Nate Gilliam's story. The Bengals are Gilliam's third team in his young NFL career, but he's been in Cincinnati for the past two years. He has technically only accrued one season of NFL experience, but has been with the Bengals since the 2022 offseason and entered the NFL back in 2020. Now he's looking to make it three years in Cincinnati.

Nate Gilliam

• Age: 26
• Year: 5th
• Position: Center
• College: Wake Forest
• Previous Teams: Los Angeles Chargers (2020-21), Pittsburgh Steelers (2021)
• Jersey Number: 66

Gilliam first came to Cincinnati as a free agent during training camp in 2022. He entered the NFL in 2020 as an undrafted free agent signing for the Chargers and spent that season on the practice squad. He stayed in L.A. throughout the 2021 offseason and made the practice squad again before being released and signing with the Steelers' practice squad. Pittsburgh waived him before final cuts in 2022, which is how he ended up with the Bengals.

The last two years have gone exactly the same for Gilliam. He's stuck through both offseasons competing for a roster spot, and has ended up on the practice squad for the entirety of both seasons. He's yet to be called up to the active roster. This is the second year in a row he has been brought back on a futures deal. 

Contract details

Gilliam signed a one-year futures deal with the Bengals back in January that will pay him the minimum salary for the 2024 season.

His salary will cost $795,000 for the entire season if he's kept on the team for the entire regular season, which is more than his career earnings of $651,100 prior to this year.

Roster chances

There hasn't been a point where Gilliam has been in position to make the team. He's practiced mostly at center but has repped at all three interior spots along the offensive line. Ted Karras, Max Scharping, and Trey Hill have made it nearly impossible for Gilliam to make a name for himself at his main position.

Scharping is no longer in the picture, but Hill still has a year left on his deal as a former sixth-round draft pick, and Matt Lee is the new rookie in town as a seventh-round pick. Lee had the resume to be drafted much higher than when he went off the board, so you could say the competition in front of Gilliam to crack the 53 has only gone up if anything. 

The Bengals have retained Gilliam the last two years for a reason. He's a quality practice player they've been developing. It wouldn't surprise many if he's a practice squad player again should he accept another year in Cincinnati, but making the actual roster is so far from likely outside of injuries.

Chances of making the roster: 5%

Previous player breakdowns

• Kwamie Lassiter II
• Domenique Davis