With two starting cornerbacks on injured reserve, the Bengals are looking at developing their young players at that spot, and on Tuesday they stayed young when they claimed Patriots cornerback Marco Wilson off waivers.
Wilson, 25, a 2021 fourth-round pick of the Cardinals, averaged 21 snaps in his 10 games with New England and brings 54 NFL games of experience that includes 37 starts and three interceptions.
It looks like rookie Josh “Fig,” Newton, the fifth-rounder from TCU, could draw his first NFL start when the Bengals return from their bye to play the Steelers Dec. 1 at Paycor Stadium.
When starter Cam Taylor-Britt was benched after the first two series last Sunday night in Los Angeles, Newton, who came in with 71 snaps under his belt, opened eyes on a career-high 51 downs.
Pro Football Focus had Newton allowing just three receptions on six targets for 47 yards, and he gave Chargers deep threat Quentin Johnston nothing on two targets.
Even before starting cornerback DJ Turner hurt his clavicle in the last minute of the third quarter, an injury they fear could be season-ending, Newton was playing his way into playing time.
"Certainly, circumstance is going to bring more opportunity. But I also think he's earned it as well," said Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said Tuesday. "Bigger role, for sure.
"I thought he was competitive. He got put in a lot of man-to-man situations and made plays on the ball. Brought a lot of energy to the table. Really good to see that confidence from a rookie, step up in a moment like that and play to the level that he did."
Newton not only had two passes defensed, but he showed off his physical game with three tackles and no misses. A gregarious sort and a highly-regarded captain in his two college stops, Newton's intangibles are a big part of why defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo likes him.
"His energy level is off the charts. He's as tough as they come. He just thinks that no one can beat him. His mental approach is terrific. So let's start with that," Anarumo said Tuesday. "He really goes about his everyday business of, 'I want to be the best player I can be every day.' I can't say enough about him on his approach to all of it.
"So it wasn't a total surprise that he went out there and did what he did, to be quite honest. But I'm happy he did, and happy he'll have now, along with his mental (approach) he'll have that confidence that, hey, I can do this at this level."
Newton made a huge third-down play to force a punt Sunday with 1:34 left when he wrenched a pass from Chargers wide receiver Joshua Palmer in man coverage.
"It was a great play on an over route," Anarumo said. "That's a hard thing for a DB in Cover One. So I was pleased to see that. And he got his hands on some balls. He was tight in coverage even when they caught it. That was the good news about that."
DJ Ivey, the second-year seventh-rounder from Miami, has played just 35 snaps in his five games since coming back from last December's ACL surgery that cut short a promising rookie year. But it sounds like he'll get more action now.
"He's been doing well in the role that we've kind of carved out for him so far. It's eight to 10 snaps a game," Anarumo said. "Generally, those ACL guys take a minute to get to be back, but he's next up."
LOU ON CAM
It worked out that Taylor-Britt probably stays in the lineup. He made sure he mentally stayed in the game after he got pulled, and he played well when he came in for Turner in the last quarter. Turner had been effective enough that he was the Bengals' top PFF defender. Anarumo called it the best of his 28 games in the pros.
"I will say this for Cam: on the sideline he was great after we did it, cheering his teammates on," Anarumo said. "And then when he had to come back in because of DJ's injury.
"Cam came back in and did well. His mind was in the right place. If he was over there pouting, it would have been a disaster. Because I've seen that side of it. Not from Cam, but from some other guys in the past. We're going to need him now, again. He's got to get back to being Cam."
They want him to play with more of his physical style, but Anarumo said he wasn't where he had to be on Justin Herbert's first two touchdown passes of the night. On the first one, a 29-yarder to tight end Will Dissly, Anarumo said he didn't drop deep enough. After the next one, a 26-yarder to Johnston, Anarumo had seen enough.
"Just a simple pickup in coverage that's he done right a million times, and it led to a touchdown," Anarumo said. "That should just be a three-deep zone, and Cam should be over there."
But Anarumo still has high hopes for the 2022 second-round pick who was on a Pro Bowl track.
"Cam is about the right stuff. If he wasn't, then he would've been sitting on the bench, like we've seen other guys that get sat down for a minute, and he would've been moping or pouting," Anarumo said. "He was up cheering like nobody's business. He's about the right stuff. We've just got to get him to settle down."
9 GOING OT
It's the Tuesday of the bye, but that didn't stop Joe Burrow from coming into the building to commiserate with offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher. The last time we saw him, Burrow was beating himself up in his Sunday post-game presser about two throws he missed to wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, one each on the last two series. Pitcher doubts he'll be doing that all bye.
"I've always felt he has had a rare ability to not be affected by things that almost all of us are. That's why he's been so good in big games," Pitcher said. "He just can kind of almost robotically approach any given play at any given moment in time.
"I don't want to put words in his mouth, but maybe he's feeling it more than he has before (this season). I don't know, but he's always been great at not doing that to whatever extent is humanely possible. I wouldn't say that's something we need to work on with him."
Burrow also said after the game while the break is good, he'd like to keep playing. Pitcher said he urged him to take advantage.
"We spent a good chunk of time together today. I encouraged him to shut off for a little bit," Pitcher said. "I don't know what that means for him. I know I'm going to. Because it's healthy. It's needed. It's a late bye."
SLANTS AND SCREENS
It's the second latest bye for the Bengals in the 35 seasons of such things, and the guy who may need it most is defensive tackle B.J. Hill. Hill was beat up going into the game and had to go off the field during the game.
"He knew we needed him. We had four D-tackles at that point in the game, with Sheldon (Rankins out)," Taylor said. "And so I was really impressed by B.J. Really thankful, really. It took a lot for him to continue to get through that, so I thought he did. The bye week comes at a really good time for him." …
Wide receiver Tee Higgins, who played last Sunday after missing the last three games with a quad injury, left briefly with a back issue. But he returned in no time to finish off his season-high 148 yards, and Taylor says he looks to be ready for the Steelers …
Linebacker Germaine Pratt got air time Sunday night for yelling at the defense, specifically at Taylor-Britt after one of the early touchdowns. Anarumo has zero concerns and indicated he actually appreciated the leadership.
"It's football. It's good to have leadership step up and voice things sometimes," Anarumo said. "It's never going to be clean. It was a play that we've shown in practice a bunch. They know. They handle it well. Sideline flareups happen all the time. Sometimes the cameras catch them, sometimes they don't. I'm not worried about that." …
Anarumo said free-agent safety Geno Stone (a team-high nine tackles) played his best game as a Bengal:
"I thought he tackled well. I thought he was in position to make the plays that he needed to make. I think that there are times where you'd like to be maybe a little bit tick faster here or there, but I was pleased with what he did." …
Slot cornerback Mike Hilton nearly came up with a go-ahead pick-six in Sunday's last minutes. Anarumo said it was the same route he got his pick-six against Pittsburgh three years ago ...
No one was more stunned than Anarumo when the Bengals gave up 24 points in the first half. And, the last drive was a downer, but he was extremely with how they responded in the second half.
"I thought on Thursday and Friday, just going back because we talked about just the emotion and the want to, I thought we probably had maybe one of two of our better practices, just from an energy standpoint. and guys just flying around," Anarumo said. "How they responded at halftime shows you kind of what they're about." ...
