The Cincinnati Bengals are adding wide receiver Mitchell Tinsley back to their 53-man roster this week, pulling him off the Houston Texans practice squad after injuries left the position thin.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported the signing Tuesday. Tinsley spent last season with Cincinnati, was released at the end of training camp, and joined Houston’s practice squad earlier this month.
“A return: Bengals are signing WR Mitch Tinsley off the Texans practice squad and on to their active roster. Tinsley was in Cincinnati’s camp this summer, but signed with Houston’s practice squad. And now he is back,” Schefter wrote.
The move fills an immediate need behind Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. The Bengals placed Andrei Iosivas on injured reserve last week after he tore a ligament in his thumb and underwent surgery.Iosivas must miss at least four games under league rules and is expected to be out four to six weeks. He had three catches for 19 yards in two games this season before the injury.
The depth problem grew Sunday in Pittsburgh. Fourth-round rookie Colbie Young hurt his left knee on Cincinnati’s first offensive play and did not return.
Young finished with two catches for nine yards this season. Coach Zac Taylor said Monday the rookie will miss this week’s home game against Jacksonville and that the team will gather more information on how long he will be sidelined.
That left Dohnte Meyers and Ke’Shawn Williams as the healthy wideouts behind Chase and Higgins until Tinsley returned. Meyers has already seen extra snaps and return work. Williams has had a limited role.
Tinsley, 27, knows the building and the playbook. He played in all 17 games for Cincinnati in 2025 and started four times when Chase or Higgins was unavailable.
He finished that season with eight receptions for 116 yards and two touchdowns on 24 targets. He also played 123 special-teams snaps.
His first regular season catch was a one-handed touchdown from Jake Browning in a Week 2 win over Jacksonville last year. He had also scored twice in a preseason game against Washington.
Tinsley entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with Washington in 2023 after playing at Hutchinson Community College, Western Kentucky and Penn State. During the 2021 college football season at Western Kentucky, Tinsley racked up 87 receptions fro 1,402 yards and 14 touchdowns.
He appeared in two games for the Commanders that year and later spent time on their practice squad.
Cincinnati signed him to a reserve/future contract in February 2025. He made the initial 53-man roster last fall, then agreed to a one-year extension in January before losing a numbers game in camp.
The Bengals kept Young, Meyers and Williams as their reserve receivers and waived Tinsley on Aug. 30. Houston signed him to its practice squad the next day. He was not elevated in the first three weeks.
Cincinnati is 2-1 after a 30-27 loss at Pittsburgh and hosts Jacksonville on Sunday. Joe Burrow threw for 282 yards and three touchdowns in the Steelers game, but the receiver room behind Chase and Higgins is now short-handed.
Tinsley is unlikely to become a featured target with Chase and Higgins healthy. He gives the staff a receiver who already knows the offense, can play multiple spots and can help on special teams while Iosivas and Young recover.
The team entered Tuesday with just over $10 million in salary-cap space, enough room to complete the practice squad signing without a corresponding cut being reported immediately.
