Following their preseason opening loss to the Green Bay Packers, the Bengals took the field for three more training camp practices, in preparation for their next preseason game against the Falcons. A lot was learned in the preseason opener, and as a result. Adjustments were made to the usage of certain players, especially when it came to the offensive line. Meanwhile, other positional battles carried on.
We’ll start with some injury updates. This news is a little bit older, but DT Devonnsha Maxwell has been placed on IR with a knee injury. The rookie UDFA will miss this entire season, unless the Bengals release him with an injury settlement. Tanner Hudson, Joe Bachie, and Yusuf Corker, meanwhile, all missed time after picking up injuries in the preseason opener. Tee Higgins was in a collision with Nick Scott. He did not miss time, but was noticed wearing a sleeve on his calf the next day.
The injury news hasn’t all been negative, however. Drue Chrisman, Alex Cappa and Logan Wilson were back at practice. Chidobe Awuzie was shadowing WR’s for the first time, and Allan George was back at it after getting dinged up in the first preseason game. As well, La’el Collins, Tarell Basham, Treyveon Williams, and Joe Burrow continue to make progress in their recoveries. Williams should be back practicing next week.
Following the preseason opener, the Bengals have seemingly settled on Jonah WIlliams as the starting RT, after a brief battle with Jackson Carman. Carman had some struggles at the position during the game, and was seen getting work at LT when practice resumed this week. Meanwhile, the Bengals continued to give various players work at C. In addition to regular C’s Ted Karras, Trey Hill, and Ben Brown, Max Scharping and Nate Gilliam got work at the position. This comes after Scharping played the position at points during the preseason opener. It is also worth noting again that Cordell Volson got some reps at C during OTA’s. Certainly a lot of experimentation going on there.
The offence was able to score some long TD’s that were eye-catching in the clips floating around from camp. Trevor Siemian found Chase deep, who beat Taylor-Britt for the TD. Jake Browning had a long one of his own, completing his pass to Tee Higgins. Tyler Boyd also caught a deep ball, and Trenton Irwin has continued to have success in redzone drills.
Despite some big plays, the offence largely struggled to move the ball. Jake Browning threw a few picks, including to Cam-Taylor Britt, Nick Scott, and Trey Hendricskson. Taylor-Britt was covering Ja’Marr Chase at the time, a battle that has continuously been one of the best. Mike Hilton got himself one off Trevor Siemian. His anticipation continues to draw rave reviews, after his interception off a screen pass generated some buzz in practice last week.
DJ Turner has also been a consistent playmaker, at times besting Chase, while DJ Ivey and Allan George have also flashed. Ivey had a nice breakup on a pass for Andrei Iosivas. Turner is a lock to make the roster, but Ivey and George, both fighting for a spot, are making a good push. Another defender that has flashed is Akeem Davis-Gairther, who made a nice tackle on a Chase Brown handoff. He is very much a coverage guy first, but his play against the run has been improving since college.
Hendrickson has been dominant in camp. Not only getting his one handed interception off Browning, but also beating Orlando Brown badly for what would have been a sack. On the other side of the line, Sam Hubbard beat Jonah Williams around the edge, and accidentally knocked down Jake Browning. As most are familiar with by now, nobody is supposed to touch the QB in camp. But from time to time, it does happen by accident.
Chis Evans had an outstanding game in the preseason opener, and as practice carries on, he is looking to show that he can be relied on in other areas, in order to make the team and be trusted enough to see snaps more regularly. Specifically, his pass blocking is something that has been emphasized, and this week, he had some good reps in this area.
Training camp is concluded for this week, and the Bengals now turn their attention to the Atlanta Falcons. They will face the Falcons in Atlanta on Friday, in week 2 of the preseason.