The Bengals were back at it this weekend for a couple more training camp practices, following their preseason loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Saturday’s practice, which was day 10 of training camp, featured some injury updates. Geno Stone is week to week after picking up an injury in the preseason opener. It was reported that Cam Taylor-Britt and Daxton Hill are still being managed, and they’ll see how they are for the second preseason game. Both are practicing. In addition to Stone, Jalen Davis, Mike Gesicki, BJ Hill, Cedric Johnson, Isaiah Thomas, and Kendall Milton didn’t practice on Saturday. As well, Hendrickson’s hold-in continues. Marco Wilson, meanwhile, was back at practice.
The injury updates continued into practice. In fact, it took only one play. On the first play of practice, Joseph Ossai limped off. Later, Tee Higgins left. But luckily, it was likely cramping due to the heat, as he did end up returning after getting some fluids. The same thing also happened with Noah Fant.
Some shuffling on the offensive line took place in practice. After getting a lot of work at OT, we finally saw rookie Jalen Rivers working at G, which as I have mentioned before, is better suited to his skill set. As well, Cody Ford saw more time at OT, but for him this is nothing new. His versatility is a big reason why he is here.
With Stone out, Daijahn Anthony was the one working with the first team in his place. At CB, Taylor-Britt, Hill, and DJ Turner made up the top 3. Not the most surprising development, but earlier in the offseason, there did seem to be a chance that Josh Newton starts in the slot. He still might, but I’d say that Turner is ahead in the battle for the next spot after Taylor-Britt and Hill.
Some plays were made on both sides of the ball. Cam Taylor-Britt had a nice pass breakup. As well, PJ Jules made his way over to the sideline to pick off a Jake Browning pass attempt. For him, plays like this are important, as he is fighting to stick around.
Not to be outdone, Joe Burrow was able to find Ja’Marr Chase in the end zone for a nice TD.
On Sunday, we got some more news regarding absences. This time, Jermaine Burton was also missing from practice. The reason was reported by the Bengals as being an undisclosed injury, and it sounds like he is day to day. As well, Daxton Hill, Joseph Ossai, BJ Hill, Geno Stone, Mike Gesicki, Kendall Milton, and Cedric Johnson were all out, while Trey Hendrickson’s hold-in continued.
Practice number 11 featured more splashy plays on offence. Tee Higgins went up and got one over top of DJ Turner, using the size mismatch against him. Later, Burrow scrambled to find Chase Brown for a TD. Brown’s TD was on a 98 yard drive. Interestingly, with Gesicki out, both Tanner Hudson and Noah Fant were used quite often on some of their drives. Perhaps this will foreshadow more TE usage this season for the Bengals.
After losing out to Higgins, Turner made a nice play on a pass for Andrei Iosivas. He got his hand there late to knock it out of his hands.
Some nice developments on the defensive side included Shemar Stewart getting work with the first team, after turning in a solid performance in the preseason opener. As well, Myles Murphy was able to beat Orlando Brown for at least a pressure. Had there been real tackling, he might have gotten a sack.
Now, the Bengals will head into another game week, as they prepare for the Washington Commanders next Monday, on the 18th.
