Russ

Yeast

He was an exclusive rights free agent. Tinsley pushed former third-rounder Jermaine Burton out of Joe Burrow’s circle of trust in the preseason and managed an 8/116/2 seasonal receiving line, with 15 of those targets coming against the Ravens and Patriots as Tee Higgins was out. Tinsley isn’t exactly a fantasy football sleeper, but Burrow’s rapport with him does make him interesting as a contingency plan. The Bengals also signed these 18 other players to ERFA one-year deals or futures contracts: LB Liam Anderson, C Jacob Bayer, HB Gary Brightwell, QB Sean Clifford, OT Andrew Coker, DT Howard Cross, OT Javon Foster, WR Xavier Johnson, CB Jalen Kimber, CB Bralyn Lux, WR Jordan Moore, LB Antwaun Powell-Ryland, S Russ Yeast, DE Isaiah Foskey, LB Joe Giles-Harris, LB Shaka Heyward, TE Cam Grandy, and S PJ Jules.

ESPN’s Ben Baby notes that the Bengals have one practice squad spot remaining. Gregory could be a candidate for it. The Bengals signed OT Javon Foster and S Russ Yeast to the practice squad and released OT Devin Cochran.

Yeast is reportedly in stable condition. Several Rams teammates left the Seahawks stadium to check on Yeast in a nearby hospital, where he’ll stay overnight. We will update Yeast’s condition when the team provides more information.

A transfer from Louisville, Yeast finished his collegiate career by starting 13 games at safety in 2021. He recorded 48 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, four interceptions, and 14 passes defended en route to First Team All-Big 12 honors. Yeast was also named to The Athletic’s All-Portal team in 2021.

Yeast (5'11/196) was injured during the fourth quarter of Louisville’s win over Syracuse on Saturday. Assumed to be out for this weekend’s regular season finale against Kentucky, the junior cornerback is also unlikely to be ready for Louisville’s bowl game depending upon when the team plays. Yeast has accounted for 61 total tackles, four passes defensed and an interception this season.

Yeast and QB Jordan Travis both announced that they’d transfer last week, but it appears that decision has been put on hold. The fact that he’s back so shortly after Bobby Petrino was fired probably isn’t coincidental. He was the teams third cornerback last year, but played sparingly under Petrino in 2018. He’s a former four-star recruit, so keeping him would be a boost for the Louisville roster as they try and rebound from the mess created this year.

Yeast becomes the team’s second transfer in the past week, following QB Jordan Travis. Yeast probably had reason to be aggrieved. The team’s third cornerback who started seven games during their bowl run last year, Yeast only played sparingly this year despite the loss of Jaire Alexander and UL’s consistently horrid defensive showings. The former four-star recruit had offers from Alabama, Auburn and Notre Dame coming out. Yeast can burn his redshirt year while sitting out next season to satisfy NCAA rules.

Yeast was a Kentucky commit for some time, but backed off that pledge over the summer. Following an official visit to Louisville this past weekend, the 5-foot-11, 185-pounder said, “I’ve been thinking really hard about Louisville for quite a while and my official visit really helped me take the next step. Louisville really made me feel like a top priority and made me feel at home.” As for his on-field position, Rivals recruiting analyst Josh Helmholdt notes that Yeast will likely join Louisville on the defensive side of the ball. Helmholdt’s outlet ranks him as the No. 46 athlete in the country.