The Bengals held their 8th training camp practice on Saturday, and this one was inside Paycor Stadium. Fans filled the lower bowl, and got an early look at how things are shaping up for the team. Trey Hendrickson was in attendance, but again, in street clothes, as he awaits a contract extension. BJ Hill was also out, while Cam Taylor-Britt was seen working with trainers. According to reporter Ben Baby, Cedric Johnson had a boot on his leg and was on a scooter. He is reportedly dealing with a strained calf.
We got our first look at Noah Fant in Cincy colours since his signing, and a catch against air from Joe Burrow drew some attention. The new addition also spent a lot of time talking to TE coach James Casey, with Erick All listening closely as well.
Once the team drills got going, Burrow and the skill guys made some nice plays. After an early dump off to Chase Brown, Burrow found Mike Gesicki down the field and then Ja’Marr Chase along the sideline. Unfortunately, Gesicki seemed to pull his hamstring on the play, and was massaging it when kneeling on the sideline.
With Gesicki out, Tanner Hudson saw additional reps, which he was able to take advantage of. It was timely for him, with many having just pushed him out of their roster predictions after Fant’s signing. But Hudson looked good, and may have something to say about his roster spot.
A couple other big offensive plays included downfield shots to Mitchell Tinsley and Tee Higgins, respectively. Tinsley has quietly made a few plays in camp, and earned some praise from Burrow. As far as the run game goes, Tahj Brooks might have had his best day. He’s got some shiftiness to his game, and his pass blocking continues to receive praise from the coaching staff.
Geno Stone had a nice pass breakup on a pass for Tee Higgins, but overall, it was the DL that stole the show on the defensive side.
Shemar Stewart had a good day running with the second team. He got through to deflect a pass on one play, and had a sack on another. Devin Cochran had a tough time against him. Stewart also did well against the run. The 2nd team offence had some struggles, and Browning had a tough time getting going. He threw two or three picks.
TJ Slaton also had a good day. Although known more as a run defender, he created some push, albeit against an underwhelming iOL unit for the Bengals. As we have seen for most of camp so far, the iDL has had the upper hand against the iOL. And by iOL, I mostly mean G. There hasn’t been much to complain about with Ted Karras, who is usually consistent.
In the OL vs DL 1 on 1 drills, there were a couple of standout plays. Myles Murphy smoked Jalen Rivers on one play. On another, Dylan Fairchild had Howard Cross III on the ground. To be fair, though, Cross III seemed to lose a little balance early in the rep, which made it easy picking for Fairchild.
Ending off with special teams here, Evan McPherson had been great in camp, up to this point. However, he missed a few kicks in this one.
The Bengals will be back at it on Sunday, before then setting their sights on the Philadelphia Eagles for their first preseason game, which is on Thursday.
