Bengals signing Rocky Lombardi and Aaron Casey as UDFAs

The Bengals add two depth options as UDFA to round out the roster

The Cincinnati Bengals draft ended with 10 picks made and no trades. This leaves not a lot of spots for undrafted free agents, but the Bengals still need to add some camp bodies and some players to play in the preseason.

They also could have some guys who surprisingly compete, and one of those players is Indiana Hoosiers linebacker Aaron Casey.

Casey did not test super well, ending up with a below-average RAS (relative athletic score). However, in his final year at Indiana, he was very productive with over one hundred tackles and 6.5 sacks. He was a special teamer for years at Indiana.

In his final two years, he took over the MIKE linebacker role, and in his final year, he was the only Division I player with over 100 tackles and 20 tackles for loss. He’s an aggressive, violent linebacker who keys downfield, which causes him to miss some tackles. Combine that with his sub-par athleticism and it is not surprising that he was not drafted, although with a weakness at the backup linebacker spot, Casey could be competing in year 1 or 2.

At QB, the Bengals added Rocky Lombardi, a sixth-year senior who started all 13 games for Northern Illinois in 2023, completing 57.8% of his passes for 2,274 yards and 11 touchdowns vs. seven interceptions. He began his career at Michigan State (2018-20) before spending his final three seasons at NIU. His best season came in 2021 when he completed 58.3% of his passes for 2,597 yards and 15 touchdowns vs. eight interceptions.

His numbers were just okay, but with solid athleticism and a good enough NFL arm, he can be a solid camp arm and a potential practice squad stash. His chances of making the roster seem slim with Jake Browning locked in for at least two more years, but he is a solid developmental option to keep on the practice squad for now.