CINCINNATI – Believe it or not, there was more to the Cincinnati Bengals’ practice today than just the fights.
Early in the practice before things got heated in the team periods, there were more deep balls than usual when the quarterbacks and receivers were working doing routes on air.
And that continued into the competitive period with Joe Burrow and Jake Browning airing it out on multiple occasions.
Bengals QB Joe Burrow Has Best Practice of Camp
Also of note for Bengals fans planning to come down to watch practice this week, this one was the last one open to the public before Saturday’s preseason opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The original schedule had Thursday’s practice as an open one, but the team shifted the schedule to close the practice and add Aug. 19 as an open one.
The reason for the switch is that the team is moving practice inside the stadium, and they don’t have the security staff to handle that on such short notice.
And the reason for the venue change likely is due to the new turf. The team had not practiced on it before this morning’s walk-through, and it makes sense to hold a full practice on the new surface before playing a game on it Saturday night.
Injury Report
Rookie third-round pick McKinnley Jackson said he suffered a knee sprain in Monday’s practice. He had a pair of crutches next to his locker and a brace on his right leg.
Jackson said he’s thankful it isn’t serious, and he’s day-to-day, but he is disappointed because he was really looking forward to Saturday night’s game.
Veteran defensive end Trey Hendrickson participated for the first time since the first practice of camp, albeit in limited fashion. Hendrickson only took part in individual drills.
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Defensive end Sam Hubbard is still week-to-week with the knee injury head coach Zac Taylor labeled as “not significant.”
Defensive tackles Jay Tufele and Domenique Davis continue to be out with undisclosed injuries, while Devonnsha Maxwell is still on the Physically Unable to Perform list.
Those issues, plus losing Cam Sample to a season-ending Achilles injury, led the Bengals to work out three defensive linemen today, two of which they signed.
Offensively, backup offensive tackle D’Ante Smith missed his fifth consecutive practice, and undrafted wide receiver Cole Burgess sat out his fourth.
Quarterback Report
Lost in all the attention the fights attracted was the fact that today arguably was Joe Burrow’s best practice of camp.
One of his best balls resulted in a touchdown to Kendric Pryor in the corner of the end zone with Cam Taylor-Britt in coverage, and his connection with Tee Higgins went to a new level as they repeatedly moved the chains against the defense, including a deep ball that served as Burrow’s own haymaker on a day of fights.
Several scrums. Offense getting upset with defense consistently taking guys to the ground. This was Joe Burrow‘s answer. pic.twitter.com/rCOAs9wfTE
— Jay Morrison (@ByJayMorrison) August 7, 2024
Burrow completed 16 of his first 19 passes, with one of the incompletions being an intentional throwaway. He finished 16 of 22 after Germaine Pratt dislodged the ball from Andrei Iosivas on a hit that started a fight, and tight end Tanner Hudson dropped Burrow’s final pass when he got popped in the end zone.
It’s another sign of what the team was missing the last two years when Burrow missed the bulk of training camp due to an appendectomy in 2022 and a calf injury in 2023.
“Having Joe there day in and day out is a big deal, and we feel that confidence,” offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher said. “From that standpoint, we’re further along now than maybe we’ve been the last couple of years.”
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Especially on the explosive plays.
“I think we’re doing a good job putting our guys in position to make those plays, and they gotta go make them,” Pitcher said. “And so every time you get a chance to do it, they can’t be long, foul balls. We’ve got to connect. And I think we did that several times today, and that is encouraging.”
Stock Rising
A 2022 undrafted rookie, Kendric Pryor has made a number of touchdown grabs and other big plays. He’s still a longshot to make the 53-man roster, but the competition is still there for practice squad spots, and Pryor is a leading candidate to grab one.
The Bengals waived punter Austin McNamara today, making it a two-man competition between newcomer Ryan Rehkow and incumbent Brad Robbins.
Stock Falling
All of the first-team reps at cornerback are going to DJ Turner II during the last-second practices, suggesting that the battle is either over or close to it. That doesn’t mean Daxton Hill won’t get plenty of meaningful snaps in defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo’s multiple schemes, but the starting job was the main goal.
Myles Murphy continues to struggle to get pressure when working against rookie first-round pick Amarius Mims. The Bengals are counting on him to make a big jump in his second season, so the preseason games will be big for him to go against normal-sized offensive tackles.
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