Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow has taken all of three preseason snaps in becoming the NFL's current all-time accuracy leader, but that looks like it is going to change in 2024.
At Monday's training camp media luncheon, head coach Zac Taylor said that Burrow (wrist) has been cleared for contact when workouts start Wednesday and unlike last year, he expects to get his offensive starters some snaps.
That was pretty much dictated by the calf injury Burrow suffered in the camp's second practice and virtually wiped out his preseason. The only offensive starters who played in one practice game were right tackle Jonah Williams, making a position switch and coming off surgery, and tight end Drew Sample, also coming off surgery and looking to get a game under his belt.
As veterans like center and captain Ted Karras emphasize getting out of the gate quickly to counter the 0-2 starts of the past two seasons, the Bengals have scheduled for the first time ever two joint practices in the same preseason.
They head to Chicago for their second preseason game on Aug. 17 at Soldier Field after an Aug. 15 practice with the Bears at Halas Hall. Then on Aug. 20, the Bengals work against the Colts at the Kettering Health Practice Fields before their Aug. 22 preseason finale at Paycor Stadium.
"I'm anticipating playing our guys. How much, how many games, is to be determined," Taylor said. "The schedule is a little quirky with the second and third games being kind of back-to-back, and we're practicing with both those teams, as well, so you get good work there. Certainly, I do see our starters playing at some point. How much or little will kind of be dictated through the first two weeks of practice and how I feel about that."
Bengals president Mike Brown is more than an interested observer and knows just how important it is to have Burrow healthy after the calf injury was followed by season-ending wrist surgery after the tenth game.
"He's the heart of the team. He's got to stay healthy for us to get there. I think that's a given," Brown said. "We can try hard if he goes down, and we did last year and we had a winning season. Hard to have a winning season in this league, believe me, try it some time. It isn't easy. So I expect Joe will be out there."
CONTRACT TALK: Brown and director of player personnel Duke Tobin say there's no timeline on the extension talks with three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase as he begins his fourth season. On the heels of giving Burrow the league's richest deal ever on the eve of last year's opener of his fourth season and not going into his option year, they've got their heads down trying to get this one, too.
"If you were listing our guys, one-two, you just did it, and he knows that," Brown said. "We know it, but it has to get done.
"I'm going to be pleased if it gets done so we retain his rights out into the future. The earlier the better. But he's a great player, and we know what he means to the team. He and his agent have an idea about that, too. What others get paid seems to impact what he wants to get paid. There are all kinds of issues that play into this. It's not easy to resolve, but our intention is to keep Ja'Marr Chase."
The Bengals hoped to get a long-term deal with Chase's running mate, two-time 1,000-yard wide receiver Tee Higgins, but didn't get one after they put the $23 million franchise tag on him for this year. The window is closed for negotiating with him until after the season.
Brown pointed to the league's salary cap.
"The pie is not going to grow. It's only going to be a certain size, but when you reach a point with your quarterback that you have to pay him a big contract, that takes a disproportionate piece out of the pie," Brown said. "Which means you have less left to pay the others. Sometimes that impacts whether you can get the others signed.
"You can't just pay people willy nilly. You're restricted on how much you can pay, and we really like Tee Higgins. We would wish to sign him, but it has to be at a certain level to fit within the cap or it can't be done."
Higgins showed what this season means to him when he promptly signed his one-year franchise tender right after the mandatory minicamp he didn't have to attend because he didn't have a contract. Higgins could have dragged it out well into camp, but chose to be here from the start.
"It was appreciated. I think that he really handled everything the right way," Taylor said. "I've always said this. Tee's personal and football character has always been what we dreamed of since we drafted him. This is the first time in his life where he's stuck in a professional situation where it can be managed a lot of different ways, and I thought he did a great job doing it."
They're also talking to kicker Evan McPherson about an extension and the talks with their all-time postseason scoring leader are at the any-time stage on the verge of his fourth season.
"I think that's a possibility that it could come together. It could come together as we're talking here, it could come together next week, it could come together never," Tobin said. "Is that a big enough window? Between 10 seconds from now and 10 years from now."
MIMS SIGNS: First-round pick Amarius Mims, the massive right tackle from Georgia, signed a good-sized contract Monday after the 6-8, 350-pounder made a huge impression on his new team without putting on pads during the spring. Offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher is glad he can ease him in behind 6-8, 380-pound free-agent Trent Brown, but indicated Monday he'll also get some looks with 6-8, 340-pound left tackle Orlando Brown Jr.
"I think we'll mix and match and there'll be opportunity for (Mims) to get some work in there,
Pitcher said. "We're real excited about Trent because to me he's been a known commodity at a winning level in this league for a long time and Amarius has every opportunity to become that. I think he'll get the chance to work in with that group from time to time.
"Ultimately, we'll land in a really good place where both of those guys and all three with Orlando are going to help us win games. I think Amarius is in a really good spot to be working behind those guys that really fit his physical profile."
Tobin can't say enough about Mims. He struck him as a top-three pick when he walked into Paycor Stadium and knows he got him at No. 18 only because Mims had just eight college starts.
"I don't put any limits on (Mims) at all. I think he's as rare of a young player coming into the league as there can be. I look and say to myself 'We got him at 18?' That's normally what a top three or four or five pick looks like when they walk into your building," Tobin said. "He's got refinement to work on. He's got experience to gain. He's motivated. He's healthy. He has tremendous traits. We'll see how he develops. If he proves to be the best one, he'll be out there playing. If Trent proves to be the best one, he'll be out there playing."
It's OK if Mims doesn't start the opener. Trent Brown is one of the finest pass-blockers in the league at his position in the last decade. Plus, the last Bengals rookie tackle to start on Opening Day is left tackle Anthony Munoz when he teed it up against fellow future Pro Football Hall-of-Famer Lee Roy Selmon of the Buccaneers 44 years ago at Riverfront Stadium.
DOWN ON THE CORNER: No, the Bengals aren't in the market for a veteran cornerback.
Not with 2022 second-rounder Cam Taylor-Britt bidding for a Pro Bowl, 2023 second-rounder DJ Turner looking to regain the flash he had in a terrific first half before wearing down late in his rookie season, and 2022 first-rounder Dax Hill making the switch from safety to cornerback. Plus, versatile fifth-rounder Josh Newton of TCU went in and out of the slot during the spring to impress them.
"I like what we've got there. We've got young guys that can run and cover who have a lot of upside to them. We've got some new guys working in there and it will be exciting to see how they do," Tobin said. "Do I feel like we have an immediate need for a veteran to make our team? No. Maybe if our numbers are down and we need some help at camp, but as we go we'll determine that. I feel good about it. We've got a pretty good mix of veterans, guys coming into their own, and some young guys."
Tobin is extremely confident Hill can make the switch from safety.
"He just hasn't been called a corner yet," Tobin said. "I've seen him do it. I saw him do it in college. I've seen him cover man in the NFL. I know what he can do. It's not a question of whether he has the feet, hips speed, explosiveness, and willingness to tackle."
Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo is expecting big things from Taylor-Britt in his third season and he knows the feeling is mutual.
"I think he has a high standard for himself. He's looking forward to being one of the best corners in the league and so are we," Anarumo said. "I have high expectations for Cam both on and off the field and I have definitely seen progress in both."
SPECIAL CAMP: Darrin Simmons, dean of the Bengals staff as Zac Taylor's assistant head coach who has been here since 2003 as the NFL's longest-tenured kicking coach, has maybe the biggest camp of his 22. He's not only chairing a punting competition with incumbent Brad Robbins and undrafted free agent rookie Austin McNamara, but he's also implementing the unknowns of the new kickoff rule.
Robbins, last year's sixth rounder from Michigan, is on Simmons' radar after a solid spring and believes he has improved. McNamara hasn't done anything to hurt himself, but Robbins is an adept holder and Simmons says the ability to give McPherson the same holder for two straight seasons for the first time in his career is a factor.
Simmons says running back Chase Brown and punt returner Charlie Jones are going to get a long look at kick return, where Simmons is going to have two returners. Jones, who Simmons says is the leader in the clubhouse for the punt return job as the incumbent, may be able to use those skills on kicks.
"You're not going to see as many guys running down and breaking through the first wave and having collisions that way at the point of attack like you used to have. It's going to be a bit different," Simmons said. "I think you're going to have in some form or fashion more than one level than in the past.
"The A number one characteristic for a kickoff returner this year is ballhandling. You've got to be able to handle the ball cleanly. I think we're going to see a lot of different kicks. You're not going to see the normal kickoffs like everybody is accustomed to seeing. Hang time is of zero relevance anymore. It's all about placement."
Simmons hasn't ruled out using a position player to kick off, but he won't reveal the guys he has in mind. Could one be starting linebacker Logan Wilson, a big-time high school kicker?
HARD KNOCKS: The Bengals and the rest of the AFC North are on the new version of HBO's Hard Knocks that starts in December and runs until no one from the division is left in the playoffs.
Steve Sabol, the late NFL Films boss, always credited Mike Brown for his openness that he felt led to the show's first Emmy when the Bengals 2009 training camp was featured. The Bengals swept the division that year and when Hard Knocks returned to Paycor for the 2013 camp, the Bengals won it again.
Sabol is no longer with us, but he's in the Pro Football Hall of Fame and Brown welcomes NFL Films again, even though they arrive during the most important part of the season.
"There is probably no one in the NFL that says 'Oh, we're on Hard Knocks. Hot dog,'" Brown said with a laugh. "You're almost distressed by it, and the first day, oh my god, they're everywhere. Then about two or three days into it, you just don't even notice that they're around until they barge into your office with a camera.
"I think it's a good show. It's fun to have the division on there. We can watch Pittsburgh and Baltimore and Cleveland and see what goes on up there a little bit. I think it's interesting for our fans. That part of it is a plus. I really don't mind it. And I don't think as it catches on that the players and coaches mind it that much, either."
If they do, they won't say. Certainly not Zac Taylor.
"We're doing it with three other teams in our division. It's not a stand-alone Hard Knocks, so what is there to complain about? We're all doing it together," Taylor said. "Is it inconvenient sometimes? There might be a couple of instances where it's inconvenient, but all the other teams have to deal with it as well. I think it's going to be great television and they picked the right division to do it with. I think it will be exciting for the Bengals."
