NFL Players Who Played for the Bengals and Patriots

The Cincinnati Bengals host the New England Patriots on Sunday in the season opener for both squads. There will be 48 active players on each sideline, including a few familiar faces to both fanbases. There have been 46 players to play in at least one NFL game for both the Bengals and Patriots. This group includes offensive lineman Ted Karras, currently the starting center for Cincinnati. However, three more players could be added to the list on Sunday.

Two players from the 2023 Patriots signed with the Bengals in free agency. Offensive tackle Trent Brown left New England for the second time. He departed in free agency following the 2018 season to sign with the Raiders. He rejoined the Patriots in 2021, signing with Cincinnati on his most recent three-year stint in New England. Brown was the starting left tackle on the Patriots Super Bowl 53 championship team. He is expected to start at right tackle for the Bengals on Sunday.

Mike Gesicki also left New England to sign with Cincinnati this past offseason. The tight end was only with the Patriots for one season after spending his first five NFL seasons with the Miami Dolphins. He played in all 17 games but finished with just 29 receptions for 244 yards and two touchdowns. One of those touchdowns earned Gescki (along with Mac Jones) the 2023 Adam Vinatieri Award for Patriots Play of the Year.

Gesicki Griddy on #NationalTightEndsDay! @Patriots take the lead!

📺: #BUFvsNE on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/iTs8HMaXlh pic.twitter.com/KkN4aX6ugG

— NFL (@NFL) October 22, 2023

New England signed two former Cincinnati players to their practice squad. Offensive guard Michael Jordan and tight end Mitchell Wilcox both played for the Bengals previously. The Patriots elevated Jordan from the practice squad on Saturday, thus he could play in Week 1 as well.

Bengals and Patriots 40-40 Club

Of the 46 players to play for both franchises leading up to the 2024 season, only two played 40 or more games with both the Bengals and Patriots. Running back Corey Dillon holds the career rushing record for Cincinnati (8,061 yards) and the single-season rushing record for New England (1,635 in 2004). Dillon played 107 games for the Bengals before playing his final 43 with the Patriots. No other player has played 43+ games for both franchises.

April 19, 2004

*Trade Alert*

Patriots receive:
RB Corey Dillon

Bengals receive:
2004 2nd Rd pick

Win for the Pats

Side note: last game played on grass at Gillette Stadiumpic.twitter.com/4U305ySCwO

— Boston Sports Info (@bostonsportsinf) April 19, 2024

Rex Burkhead joins Dillion as the only other member of this 40-40 Club. He played 42 games for Cincinnati before playing 41 for New England.

Ted Karras could join them in the 40-40 club this season and even overtake Dillon as having played the most games for each franchise. Karras appeared in 77 games for New England and has played 33 for Cincinnati so far.

Championships With Both Franchises

The New England Patriots have played in 11 Super Bowls. The Cincinnati Bengals won three AFC Championships. But nobody has played in the Super Bowl for both New England and Cincinnati.

Punter Lee Johnson might come the closest to qualifying for both teams. He played in Cincinnati from 1988 to 1998. Johnson played in Super Bowl 23 with the Bengals, who lost 20-16 to the San Francisco 49ers. He set the Super Bowl record for the longest punt, 63 yards (it was since broken by Johnny Hekler of the Rams in Super Bowl 53.

Johnson joined the Patriots in 1999 and was still their punter to start the 2001 season. After five games Johnson was released and replaced by Ken Walter. New England went on to win the franchise’s first Lombardi Trophy in Super Bowl 36, though Johnson had been gone for several months by then.

Lee Johnson’s most notable contribution to Patriots history might be his uniform number. He wore No. 10 in New England, which happened to be Tom Brady’s college number at Michigan. With 10 unavailable, Tom Brady wore No. 12.

Original Cincinnati Bengals

The first season of the Cincinnati Bengals was in 1968. Their roster included one former Patriots player. White Graves played for the Boston Patriots for three seasons (1965-1967) before joining the initial edition of the Bengals. Graved played in 40 games for the Patriots, recording three interceptions. He played only two games for Cincinnati in 1968, the final two of his career.

Two other members of the original Bengals would join the Patriots later in their careers. After spending his first four seasons with the Oakland Raiders, tight end Ken Herock played for the Bengals in 1968. The following season, he joined the Patriots to play the final season of his six-year career. Herock went on to become an executive with the Atlanta Falcons.

Running back Jess Phillips is the third member of the first Bengals team to play for both franchises. After spending his first five seasons in Cincinnati (1968-1972), Phillips played his final two in New England (1976-1977). He retired with 3,568 yards rushing and scored 15 total touchdowns.

Other Noteworthy Players

In addition to those named above, there are several notable players to play for both the Cincinnati Bengals and Boston-New England Patriots. Among those to play during “The Dynasty” years in New England are BenJarvus Green-Ellis, Chad Johnson,  Brandon LaFell, Brandon Tate, and Kelly Washington.

When Bill Belichick told @ochocinco he was going to get double-covered in a preseason game 😂 (Aug. 20, 2009) @Patriots pic.twitter.com/RCNxYyrEaN

— NFL Legacy (@NFLLegacy) February 16, 2019