The Cincinnati Bengals had an open spot on their active 53-man roster when they released long snapper Tyler Ott on Tuesday, and they will fill it by bringing linebacker P.J. Dawson up from the practice squad.

"I've been working, just trying to get back to where I need to be," Dawson said. "I'm thankful for everything that I've been through and I'm glad I'm in the position I am now. It's a blessing to be here, to still be here, with all the stuff that happened. I'm just trying to get back at it."

Dawson was a third round pick out of Texas Christian University last year and played in 11 games as a rookie, primarily on special teams. But after training camp, he was waived by the club on Sept. 4, the week of the season opener.

"I was shocked," he said. "I didn't think I would ever be in that position."

He came back to the organization three days later as a member of the practice squad.

"It was definitely a learning experience," Dawson said of the transactions. "Always a learning experience. So, I'm just trying to learn from it and get better. And I have gotten better. Just going through every day, trying to do my best. A lot of the teammates, they realize it so they just encourage me to keep going."

The Bengals may be in need of a linebacker on Saturday, as Vontaze Burfict is currently in the concussion protocol after self-reporting symptoms earlier in the week.

Vontaze Burfict self-reports concussion, unlikely to play Texans