Bengals' Brandon LaFell: Not considered roster lock

Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis hinted that LaFell isn't a lock to make the 53-man roster, Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com reports. "Brandon LaFell has done a nice job," Lewis said. "He feels the heat. That's a competitive group of wide receivers. So we can only keep so many of them. They're going to be competitive that way and that's a good thing."

Despite receiving a $1 million roster bonus this spring, LaFell could lose his job before Week 1 if the Bengals like what they see from their young wide receivers, a group that includes John Ross, Tyler Boyd and Josh Malone. Given that he's never been much of a factor on special teams, LaFell won't have much value to the Bengals if he tumbles to fourth or fifth on the depth chart at wide receiver. The 31-year-old is scheduled for a non-guaranteed $2.55 million base salary in the second season of a two-year contract.