After completing their second preseason game, the Bengals were back at practice this week. Only this time, they held joint sessions with the LA Rams, as the Rams will be facing the Bengals in preseason game number three. This is the first time that the Bengals are doing joint sessions since 2016, when they did it with the Vikings.
Some good news from the first day of joint sessions is that La’el Collins was a full go in 11 on 11’s. Even better, is that he reportedly did quite well. The Bengals had been easing him back from injury, so it is good to see substantial progress in that regard.
The o-line as a whole was slow out of the gate, but then settled in nicely. In addition to Collins, Alex Cappa had some nice plays. Cordell Volson was with the 1’s at LG.
The Chase/Higgins battle against Jalen Ramsey has been a good one. Each receiver had beaten Ramsey on multiple occasions down the field. That said, Ramsey also made some nice plays. It is the kind of back and forth thing that you would expect when players of that calibre go head to head.
There was also a lot of mention of Tyler Boyd in this one. He seems to have been overshadowed a bit in camp thus far, but there were reports of him making some great plays.
Sticking with the offence, Hayden Hurst continued his impressive camp. He was able to separate against the Rams defenders, and also used his catch radius to make some plays.
The defence really had some impressive moments. Apple was out of the first practice, but Awuzie stepped up multiple times with some nice pass breakups and Vonn Bell got himself an interception off a Mike Hilton tip. It was also a particularly good day for Tre Flowers.
The DL for Cincy was able to generate a good amount of pressure. BJ Hill was reportedly doing well, especially in the 1 on 1 drills.
Of the depth guys on defence, Allan George stood out with a couple plays on the ball. He also picked off a pass that was tipped by Trayvon Henderson.
Kendric Pryor continued to stand out in the competition among the depth receivers. He made a couple of nice catches in traffic. Mike Thomas also made a nice catch deep down the field.
At the end of practice, the teams did situational drills. The Bengals offence was on the field, needing a field goal to “win.” They were able to drive down far enough. Even McPherson successfully made a 57 yard kick, as he continues his impressive camp.
On day two of practice, the highs and lows continued. Burrow was picked off by Jalen Ramsey and Troy Hill. However, he was also able to find Chase for a 75 yard TD. Overall, the defences seemed to have the upper hand. For the Bengals, Trey Hendrickson was a standout, going up against Joe Noteboom.
Unlike Wednesday’s practice, Thursday’s was a lot more chippy. La’el Collins got into it often with Leonard Floyd. At one point, it led to a full on brawl, with Aaron Donald swinging Bengals helmets at other players. Due to the brawl, practice had to be ended early.
On the injury front, Sample and Wilcox were both out. As well as Isaiah Prince and Lamont Gaillard. On the defensive side, the Bengals were without Khalid Kareem, Eli Apple, Cam Taylor-Britt, and Javaris Davis.
The Bengals will face the Rams on Saturday at Paycor Stadium in the preseason finale.
