The Bengals were back at it on Thursday, but this practice was a little different than what we usually see. This one was a joint practice with the Green Bay Packers, who are in town for Friday’s preseason opener. Joint practices are good for players to get some different competition than the teammates they have been competing against over the past couple of weeks. Also, as Sam Hubbard noted, it is great for the starters to get action that more closely resembles a game, given that they won’t play much in the preseason.
The biggest headline from this practice was a couple of scrums that occurred, something that is not uncommon in joint practices. For the Packers, both involved their C Elgkton Jenkins, while Germaine Pratt and DJ Reader, respectively, were involved for the Bengals. Neither team made a big deal about it afterwards, acknowledging that things can get competitive.
In terms of the on-field play, Trey Hendrickson was the star for Cincinnati, forcing his way into the backfield for a reported 7 would-be sacks. Of course, in training camp, you are not allowed to actually tackle the QB, so these sacks are counted based on the assumption that the defensive player would have finished off the play.
Staying on the defensive side, DJ Reader made things nearly impossible for Green Bay when it came to their ground game. He was consistently disruptive. Akeem Davis-Gaither flashed in coverage, nearly coming up with an interception. In the secondary, meanwhile, Daxton Hill, Cam Taylor-Britt, Tycen Anderson, and DJ Turner were all able to get a pass breakup. Turner has shown throughout camp that he can make plays, and the joint practice was not different. However, he did get beat down the field by Romeo Doubs. Doubs also torched Sidney Jones on a play, but was overthrown.
Mike Hilton had the secondary’s biggest highlight, jumping a screen pass for what would have been a pick 6. He has quietly had a very good camp, and kept it going on Wednesday.
On the offensive side, the big three at WR were standouts. However, Trevor Siemian and Jake Browning both reportedly struggled to get the ball to them. As a result, the offences, both first team and second team struggled. That said, Siemian did manage to throw a couple of TD’s, including one to Boyd.
Onto the OL now, Jonah Williams reportedly had a good day at RT. As long as he doesn’t have any slip ups, he should be on his way to locking in the starting spot. Ted Karras also had some good reps. One guy who struggled, according to Olivia Ray, was Cody Ford. Considering Ford has struggled throughout most of his pro career, this development does not bode well. With a poor preseason, he is in danger of being cut.
Next up for the Bengals is Friday’s preseason game against the Packers. Training camp then resumes on August 13.