Cincinnati Bengals Practice Report Day 14: Ja’Marr Chase Absent and More Injuries Alter Plan for Chicago

CINCINNATI – For most of Tuesday’s practice, the Cincinnati Bengals defensive players were letting their play do the talking.

But as the group kept stacking wins rep after rep after rep, the voices took over.

After practice, cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt delivered the loudest assessment yet.

“We whooped their ass,” he said. “It’s as simple as that.”

Bengals Defense Dominates Final Tune-Up Before Chicago

Trey Hendrickson was a menace for Orlando Brown Jr. for most of the practice, but especially so on one play when he blew by Brown and caused the coaches to call it dead about a second after the snap.

“That’s part of ball, the ups and downs of training camp,” Brown said. “There’s gonna be times where he’s dominating the battle or I’m dominating the battle. There’s gonna be times when we split even. It’s part of it.

“That’s what it’s about, just sharpening each other’s sword,” he added. “It’s something we talk about all the time, getting better together and continue to grow as football players. He’s one of the best in the league at what he does, and I feel like I am as well.”

Then there was rookie Josh Newton getting some reps with the first team and providing blanket coverage before deflecting a Joe Burrow pass into the air that linebacker Joe Bachie intercepted and took all the way back.

Later, while playing with the twos, Newton perfectly timed his arrival and hit Kwamie Lassiter just as the ball arrived for another PBU.

Taylor-Britt couldn’t stop raving about the rookie after practice, calling him his “mini-me.”

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“We had a bad start yesterday as a defense,” Taylor-Britt said. “I felt like we just came together as one and put forth the effort and not let it start like that again.”

And it ended as well as it began for the defense, with the pass rush combining with tight coverage by Dax Hill, forcing Burrow to throw high and wide of Trenton Irwin on third-and-5.

Injury Report

One day after Zac Taylor announced first-round pick Amarius Mims would miss several weeks with a strained pectoral muscle, injuries continued to be an issue.

Punter Brad Robbins suffered a hip flexor while warming up before practice, tapping kickoffs to the returners at 70-80% in the event Evan McPherson ever goes down and he’s needed. Robbins wasn’t sure if the injury would keep him out long-term or just a week, but it opens the door for rookie Ryan Rehkow, who had a strong debut Saturday night.

Backup quarterback Jake Browning did not practice today due to a rib issue. Taylor said he will miss some time, so you can count him out for the joint practice in Chicago and Saturday’s game at the least.

Cornerback DJ Turner II suffered a brief facial injury while breaking up a pass intended for Kendric Pryor. Turner said he just busted his lip and his whole face went numb, but he ran it off and finished the practice.

Quarterback Report

With Tee Higgins taking the day off from team drills and Ja’Marr Chase missing his 14th consecutive practice — and first even as a spectator — Burrow didn’t have a lot of receivers winning against the fired-up defense.

Most of his passes were screens and checkdowns, and the offense went nowhere during the move-the-ball possessions.

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Burrow completed eight of 11 passes, including his first six, but only two were of any significant distance. One was on a crosser to Andrei Iosivas, and the other was a scramble-drill throw to tight end Tanner Hudson as Burrow tried to escape pressure.

Logan Woodside, who will get the majority of the snaps Saturday night with Burrow not expected to play and Browning injured, relied heavily on his tight ends and went 6-of-7 with some intermediate completions mixed in with a few screens.

Woodside hit Hudson on a long pass and found rookie Erick All Jr. on a crosser in which All got the end and turned it into a big gain up the sideline.

Stock Rising

All, the fourth-round pick out of Iowa by way of Fairfield High School, only played two snaps Saturday against Tampa Bay as the team works him back slowly from ACL surgery, but he’s seeing increased reps in practice and making the most of them.

Newton, the fifth-round pick out of TCU, continues to make an impression with splash plays, and he has the attitude and everything Lou Anarumo wants his defensive backs to be about. Taylor-Britt offered this about Newton: “I get hyped talking about that boy. He’s gonna help us win a lot of games honestly. He’s come in and done everything the right way.”

Stock Falling

Just a brutal break for Robbins, who had a really strong showing Saturday night after mis-hitting his first attempt. Robbins finished with a 50-yard average and a 45.3-yard net.

Shedrick Jackson showed a lot of sizzle early in camp and even got a shoutout from Joe Burrow in a couple of news conferences, but his reps and his production have decreased considerably in the last week or so.