LAKE FOREST, Ill. – The Cincinnati Bengals came to Chicago excited to get in some good work against a talented team on the rise, but all of that optimism deteriorated into dismal disappointment on a dreary day.
There were discussions all morning about whether to practice outside or inside as rain fell and was forecast to last through the practice.
The issue with moving inside would have been having just one field available, which would have either cut into the amount of work the teams would have been able to do or doubled the length of practice.
2 Bengals Players Carted Off Field in Rain
The teams decided to practice in the elements, and what once was a light drizzling rain turned into multiple downpours for much of the practice.
Head coach Zac Taylor said that while the weather wasn’t ideal, it was good to practice in the rain and learn some things after last year’s disastrous season opener in Cleveland.
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“I think it’s good work to learn what works for us and what doesn’t in this environment,” he said. “It’s good because as it started getting heavier as practice went on, it’s good to kind of get a sense for, ‘All right, these passes are most beneficial for us, and here is how we can run the ball.'”
“I think it was really good for us to manage through that and just the footing for the offense and defense, keep your footing underneath you,” Taylor continued. “The grass gets a little loose when it gets wet, so I thought it was a lot of good stuff for us to be able to build off and learn from and store away.”
Injury Report
Backup running back and kick returner Chris Evans suffered a right knee injury on the final play of a kickoff coverage drill in pouring rain and was carted off the field.
Evans suffered a patellar tendon injury that will force him to miss the season, a team source confirmed.
A few minutes later, in an 11-on-11 drill, backup offensive tackle D’Ante Smith went down and was screaming, either in pain or frustration. He, too, was fitted for an air cast on his left leg and carted off.
Offensive tackle Trent Brown left practice midway through with what Taylor said was “lower back tightness.”
Taylor said he did not have an update on the severity of punter Brad Robbins’ hip flexor injury, nor did he have an update on the timeline for backup quarterback Jake Browning’s return from a rib injury.
Wide receiver Charlie Jones made his return to practice after suffering a knee injury last week. He only participated in individual drills and caught one punt from his college teammate at Iowa, Tory Taylor.
Neither Taylor nor Jones ruled out the possibility of the receiver playing Saturday, but it would be a surprise if the Chicago native does.
Quarterback Report
There is no database for official confirmation, but it’s doubtful Joe Burrow had ever thrown three interceptions in practice before, as he did today.
Asked how he thought he and the offensive performed, Burrow said, “We ran the ball well.”
“It was tough to throw in the rain like that,” he added. “But I thought the run game was good.”
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In a practice heavy on 11-and-11 work — and rain — Burrow was 15-for-32 with three interceptions. Two of his passes were battled down at the line of scrimmage. Several were dropped.
Tee Higgins had four drops, while Trenton Irwin had one that resulted in an interception.
Irwin had another pass go off his hands, but it was probably too high to be considered a drop. He also caught both of Burrow’s touchdown passes, which came in a red-zone drill.
Tight ends Drew Sample and Mike Gesicki each had one drop.
Stock Rising
Dax Hill continues to run with the first team after his strong performance Saturday night against Tampa Bay. Taylor said his battle with DJ Turner II is ongoing, and both cornerbacks will play Saturday against the Bears.
Germaine Pratt is the most turnover-focused player on the roster, and he kick-started the practice by intercepting No. 1 pick Caleb Williams on the first play of the 7-on-7 drill that opened the team periods.
Stock Falling
Trent Brown. If his goal is to win the starting job, even if first-round pick Amarius Mims returns from his pectoral injury in time for the opener, tapping out of a joint practice because of tightness wasn’t an ideal path to doing so.
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