The Bengals took the field this week for their last couple of training camp practices before Thursday’s preseason finale against the Colts. It was a good week of work, with Tuesday’s practice being a joint one with the Colts.
Monday’s practice saw Trent Brown return, after leaving last week with some lower back tightness. It isn’t something that ever sounded serious, so this isn’t surprising. But it is needed, with Amarius Mims out for a few weeks.
After doing so in the second preseason game, Jermaine Burton was fielding punts. His skill set is electric, and although he didn’t return punts in college, he could be an asset in this area at the pro level.
There were some good battles during Monday’s practice. On one drive, Logan Woodside hit Cole Burgess for a TD. However, the defence got the last laugh, with Daxton Hill breaking up a pass on 4th & short.
During Tuesday’s joint practice with the Colts, Charlie Jones returned after an injury scare during practice last week. He took part in the 11 on 11 drills. Sam Hubbard was also back at practice, which is a good sign for the defence. He was doing individual drills, but is expected to continue progressing. Kendric Pryor, meanwhile, was out with a finger injury.
After standout performances in each of the first two preseason games, Daxton Hill was working as the CB2 on Tuesday. While the battle may not officially be over yet, Hill seems to have the clear edge at this point.
DE Myles Murphy went down with a non-contact knee injury during practice. But luckily, the Bengals seem to have gotten some good news today. Max Murphy, the brother of Myles, tweeted out that it is an MCL sprain, and he is expected to miss maybe a few weeks. NFL insider reports have similarly stated that the Bengals have dodged anything major. Though his week 1 status is in doubt, the Bengals will be breathing a sigh of relief, having not lost their young pass rusher for an extended period of time.
In the practice, both sides looked sharp for the Bengals. Burrow was on point and, according to Bengals reporter Dan Hoard, went 26/32 with 2 TD’s and a pick. On one play, Tee Higgins made a nice highpoint catch that drew some shouts. The pick came on a wobbly pass after some pressure.
Mike Gesicki was a big part of the offensive plan, with Joe Burrow targeting him quite a bit. He made some nice plays, including a one handed catch. Hoard had him at 6 catches, which included a TD.
Rocky Lombardi, currently the team’s 4th string QB, is battling for a spot. He is getting more reps, with Jake Browning sidelined due to injury, and had one of the standout plays. It was a pass down the sideline to Charlie Jones that was dropped right in the bucket.
On the defensive side, Joseph Ossai had a good day. He had some good reps as a pass rusher, and stood out in 1 on 1 drills against the Colts offensive linemen.
The defence as a whole looked quite good, according to reports. Colts QB Anthony Richardson was mentioned as being uncomfortable, after starting out 2/8. Hilton snuffed out a screen pass, which was one of those completions. Daxton Hill was also very involved. Some players on the Bengals defence were trash talking afterwards. Funny enough, Colts veteran backup QB, Joe Flacco, was able to scramble for a TD against the second team team defence.
You can’t have a joint practice without at least one scrum. The two sides went at it at one point, with Bengals OT Orlando Brown and Isaiah Land of the Colts reportedly being in the thick of things.
Dan Hoard reported that the two sides ended the day with a pair of 2 minute drills. One each for the first and second teams. A Logan Woodside led drive resulted in a McPherson miss from 55, while Matt Gay converted from 62 for the Colts. Hoard did note that earlier in the day, McPherson hit one from 51 with plenty of room to spare.
