The Cincinnati Bengals filled their opening on the practice squad Monday with the signing of linebacker and Cincinnati native J.K. Schaffer.

“Growing up there was no one else I cheered for besides the Bengals,” said Schaffer, a University of Cincinnati graduate. “For me to be here is a dream come true.”

The 6-foot, 230-pound Schaffer signed with Jacksonville as an undrafted college free agent in May, and he led the Jaguars with 18 tackles in the preseason, along with an interception. He was one of the team’s final cuts on Aug. 31 and later spent time of the Tampa Bay practice squad before being waived Sept. 17.

He worked out for the Bengals the following week and has been hoping to hear back from them ever since.

“Roller coaster is a good way to explain it,” Schaffer said. “There’s been some really fun times and some really hard times, too. I’m just trying to find my place.

“I think I could fill a pretty good role on special teams and eventually be able to help out on defense,” He added. “Whatever that role is, I’m happy to do it. I’m just excited to be here.”

The vacancy on the practice squad was created when the team added linebacker Emmanuel Lamur to the 53-man roster Friday after linebacker Dontay Moch was played on season-ending Injured Reserve.

“(Schaffer) was a productive player at UC,” Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said. “He has a good opportunity to develop as an NFL linebacker. He’s a smart kid, and a guy that played tough and physical. You never know until you start being around the guy and the coaches coaching him, but it seems like he has a lot of the traits you’re looking for.”

Jermaine’s jump

Tight end Jermaine Gresham had a career-high 108 receiving yards Sunday on six catches, the second-highest total of his career.

He has caught at least three passes in every game this season for a total of 34 receptions for 433 yards, putting him well ahead of the career-high numbers of 56 and 596, respectively, he posted last year.

“Jermaine has had a lot of big games so far this season,” Lewis said. “He keeps playing well. He did a good job (Sunday); he made some important catches. Unfortunately he had the one drop, which we’ve got to eliminate — we he seems to come up with one of those every week. But he keeps growing. He’s got a lot of ability, and we’re counting on him to do great things.”

Brotherly advice

The Bengals will become the third team in NFL history to play brothers Peyton Manning and Eli Manning in back-to-back games when Eli and the New York Giants come to Paul Brown Stadium on Sunday.

After leading the Denver Broncos to a 31-23 victory against the Bengals on Sunday, Peyton was asked if he would give his younger brother a call with a scouting report on the Cincinnati defense.

“We play the same division in the AFC. We didn’t realize that until this week,” Peyton said. “We’ll give each other our thoughts. We’ve always done that during our time together in the NFL.”

The last team to host Peyton and Eli in back-to-back weeks was Tennessee in 2006, and the Titans won both games.