Cincinnati Bengals Practice Report Day 9: Defense Takes It to Offense After Off Day

CINCINNATI – For the first time since January, it’s game week for the Cincinnati Bengals as they prepare to play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their preseason opener Saturday at Paycor Stadium.

The defense ruled the practice, with a couple of notable exceptions, as the Bengals got back to work Sunday after an off day to clear the deck for Luke Combs’ shows at Paycor Stadium.

Instead of scripted 11-on-11 periods with each group getting a set number of plays, the Bengals ran a pair of move-the-ball drives, where the offense gets to stay on the field for as long as it is moving the chains.

Only one of those drives finished in the end zone, which will be detailed in the Quarterback Report section of today’s training camp recap.

Joe Burrow’s Prettiest Pass of Camp Finds Trenton Irwin for TD

The other five drives ended with third-down incompletions and one interception.

When the second of three drives by the second-team offense ended with a third-down incompletion, rookie safety Daijahn Anthony screamed to his teammates, “They can’t score on us.”

And he was right.

Quarterback Report

One practice after showing off the deep ball, Joe Burrow flexed his touch Sunday afternoon.

On a 3rd-and-9 play from the 13-yard line, Burrow threw maybe his prettiest pass of camp when he dropped a perfectly placed fade into the arms of Trenton Irwin for the only touchdown during today’s team periods.

Rookie fifth-round pick Josh Newton had good coverage on Irwin, but the savvy vet used a subtle shove to create separation before bending toward the back pylon and hauling in Burrow’s throw.

Burrow showed some frustration and fire early in the drill when Tanner Hudson and Tee Higgins were lackadaisical about getting properly aligned, resulting in Burrow clapping his hands and yelling at the duo, “Let’s go.”

The play ended up resulting in a completion to Hudson as Burrow called an audible after seeing the look the defense was giving.

Burrow went 5-of-6 on the opening drive, which ended with the touchdown to Irwin.

He went 5-of-7 on the second drive, which ended with Geno Stone breaking up a third-down pass for Andrei Iosivas.

Geno Stone says “Hell no!”to Joe Burrow and Andrei Iosivas pic.twitter.com/D4pbeyMSVo

— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) August 4, 2024

Burrow was 5-of-6 on the third drive, which ended when he scrambled and threw wide of Iosivas on third down.

Backup Jake Browning was 5-of-12 with an interception.

The first drive ended when he missed Iosivas with a high pass on 3rd-and-7.

The second one ended when a 3rd-and-10 pass went off receiver Kwamie Lassiter II’s hand.

And the third was a three-and-out that resulted in rookie safety Anthony picking off Browning’s pass intended for rookie Tanner McLachlan.

Injury Report

The biggest news, literally and figuratively, on the injury report was the team announcing that veteran offensive tackle Trent Brown had passed his physical and was cleared to practice.

We have made the following transaction:

OT Trent Brown has passed a physical and is cleared to practice.

— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) August 4, 2024

Then the 6’8″, 380-pounder didn’t practice, reporting instead to the rehab field, where he has been a staple since July 23 when he reported to camp feeling “tightness” and landed on the Non-Football Injury list.

Every practice Brown doesn’t participate in is another step toward rookie first-round pick Amarius Mims winning the starting job.

Rookie wide receiver Jermaine Burton, who suffered an ankle injury Thursday and sat out Friday, was back to work today and participated in individual and team drills.

FREE: Subscribe to PFN’s NFL Newsletter

Linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither also was back to work after missing Friday.

Defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins missed his second consecutive practice, while defensive tackle Jay Tufele and Domenique Davis missed their fourth in a row.

Cam Sample continues to be absent after leaving on a cart Thursday, and head coach Zac Taylor said defensive ends Sam Hubbard and Trey Hendrickson should be considered week to week.

Backup offensive lineman D’Ante Smith missed his fourth straight practice, while undrafted rookie Cole Burgess missed his second in a row.

Stock Rising

• Defensive tackle Zach Carter, who has struggled to make an impact in his first two seasons, got a chance to run with the first-team defense today with Rankins not practicing.
• Vonn Bell was especially active against the run today, coming up with big stop after big stop, which had his teammates more fired up and vocal after each one.
• It’s getting repetitive, but rookie seventh-round safety Anthony continues to make splash plays, adding his third interception of camp today on a ball thrown by Browning.

Stock Falling

• Kendric Pryor has had a nice camp that has featured more than a few receptions against Dax Hill, but he flat-out dropped a deep ball from Burrow today.
• Lassiter, who joined the Bengals alongside Pryor as an undrafted free agent in 2022, had a Browning pass go off his hand — singular. Lassiter appeared to have time to go up with both hands but elected to reach out with one and try to tip the ball back into his body.