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The Cincinnati Bengals announced their class of college free agent signings shortly after the 2026 NFL Draft. Additions of that kind rarely generate much conversation, but one member of the group has been difficult to overlook this offseason.
A five-year college player, linebacker Eric Gentry began his career at Arizona State in 2021 before transferring to USC, where he played from 2022 through 2025. He appeared in 52 games between the two programs, 12 with the Sun Devils and 40 with the Trojans, totaling 271 tackles.
The production was enough to earn Gentry an NFL opportunity, though not enough to get him drafted. It is also not why the rookie has become a talking point this summer. That distinction belongs to his one-of-one frame at the LB position.
Last Thursday, WLWT’s Jaron May published a feature on Gentry, introducing the undrafted rookie free agent as the tallest linebacker in the NFL. The feature, built around a video segment and an accompanying article, aired with his first training camp only weeks away.
May’s story traces Gentry’s path from Philadelphia, where he played both basketball and football in high school before committing to football. The Bengals’ own announcement of his signing listed the Southern California product at 6-foot-7 and 221 pounds.
Following the team’s rookie minicamp in May, The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. cited a TruMedia database search showing that no defensive player between 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-8 who weighs between 215 and 225 pounds has taken an NFL snap this century. In other words, the towering rookie is standing out for an unusual reason.
While the frame is one of a kind, evaluators were measured on Gentry ahead of the draft. NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein projected him as a seventh-round or undrafted prospect, one whose outlook amounted to an average backup at linebacker or a special teams player.
Cincinnati’s internal evaluation of the linebacker found something to like all the same.
“Has athleticism to play sideline-to-sideline running at chase linebacker,” an NFL scout said of Gentry in the team’s breakdown of its college free agent signings (via Bengals senior writer Geoff Hobson).
Special teams duty is the usual entry point for an undrafted linebacker, and that is where Gentry’s push for a spot on Cincinnati’s 53-man roster figures to begin. His first real chance to change that outlook arrives when Bengals training camp opens Wednesday, July 29. Six of the sessions at the Kettering Health practice fields will be open to fans, and a Friday night practice at Paycor Stadium follows on August 7.
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A five-year college player, linebacker Eric Gentry began his career at Arizona State in 2021 before transferring to USC, where he played from 2022 through 2025. He appeared in 52 games between the two programs, 12 with the Sun Devils and 40 with the Trojans, totaling 271 tackles.
The production was enough to earn Gentry an NFL opportunity, though not enough to get him drafted. It is also not why the rookie has become a talking point this summer. That distinction belongs to his one-of-one frame at the LB position.
Last Thursday, WLWT’s Jaron May published a feature on Gentry, introducing the undrafted rookie free agent as the tallest linebacker in the NFL. The feature, built around a video segment and an accompanying article, aired with his first training camp only weeks away.
May’s story traces Gentry’s path from Philadelphia, where he played both basketball and football in high school before committing to football. The Bengals’ own announcement of his signing listed the Southern California product at 6-foot-7 and 221 pounds.
Following the team’s rookie minicamp in May, The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. cited a TruMedia database search showing that no defensive player between 6-foot-6 and 6-foot-8 who weighs between 215 and 225 pounds has taken an NFL snap this century. In other words, the towering rookie is standing out for an unusual reason.
While the frame is one of a kind, evaluators were measured on Gentry ahead of the draft. NFL.com analyst Lance Zierlein projected him as a seventh-round or undrafted prospect, one whose outlook amounted to an average backup at linebacker or a special teams player.
Cincinnati’s internal evaluation of the linebacker found something to like all the same.
“Has athleticism to play sideline-to-sideline running at chase linebacker,” an NFL scout said of Gentry in the team’s breakdown of its college free agent signings (via Bengals senior writer Geoff Hobson).
Special teams duty is the usual entry point for an undrafted linebacker, and that is where Gentry’s push for a spot on Cincinnati’s 53-man roster figures to begin. His first real chance to change that outlook arrives when Bengals training camp opens Wednesday, July 29. Six of the sessions at the Kettering Health practice fields will be open to fans, and a Friday night practice at Paycor Stadium follows on August 7.
Continue reading...
