A few days ago the Bengals were staring at an abyss on the edge.
Starter Sam Hubbard (knee) had yet to wear pads. Cam Sample (Achilles) was lost for the year before the first game. Jeff Gunter suddenly retired. Last week during the joint practice with the Colts before the preseason finale, Myles Murphy (knee) limped off.
Things seemed a bit brighter Thursday as the Bengals practiced for the last time before game week prep starts for the Sept. 8 opener against the Patriots.
Hubbard bounced around his second day in pads. Sixth-rounder Cedric Johnson has earned a roster spot as a natural pass rusher who looks ready to serve as a core special teamer. Murphy, not lost for the year, is on injured reserve-return and is getting around well enough that he took his old edge partner at Clemson to dinner on Wednesday night.
It turns out that K.J. Henry is now the fifth healthy edger with the Bengals, making the reunion possible when they claimed him on waivers. For anyone watching the Commanders this preseason, it was a surprise Henry was released because, according to Pro Football Focus, he had a solid grade built on 10 pressures in 48 pass rushes for a 20.8% pass rush win rate. That was on top of a rookie season the 6-4, 255-pound Henry played 41% of the snaps and came up with 1.5 sacks and two passes defensed on 282 snaps.
"Very, very surprised, but it's OK. It's a blessing," Henry said, pulling off his No. 56 after practice. "I haven't put much thought into it after the decision. It's the best lesson in the league. Especially for a young guy. Control what you can control."
If it sounds like Henry, 25, has his head on straight, it's because he does. The Bengals know all about that because they ended up taking the guy who played on the other side of him at Clemson in the first round.
Murphy.
They know that Henry has an undergraduate degree in sports communications and a master's in athletic leadership, as well as a charismatic presence in the media.
"He has that big personality. He leads by example. He leads vocally. They rave about his character down there," said Bengals senior personnel executive Trey Brown. "And his skill set translates very well to what we do on defense.
"We all know the players they have at Clemson and he was very good there. We got a chance to see him this preseason. He's a guy that gets off the ball. He uses his strength, and he can also get on the edge with speed. He's got a good sense of when to counter, when to come inside to put pressure on the quarterback. We like the fact he's well-rounded, and you can put him on the edge on first and second downs and he also proves he has really good value in the pass rush on third down."
Murphy isn't Henry's only acquaintance working for the Bengals. His new defensive line coach, Marion Hobby, recruited him to Clemson and is a friend of his father, long-time college coach and current North Carolina A&T safeties coach Keith Henry.
"He knew me before I knew him," Henry said.
Also here is another former Clemson teammate, wide receiver Tee Higgins. Higgins is a former Mr. Basketball in Tennessee, and K.J. Henry once told ESPN the highest he could have gone in basketball is low Division I. His basketball claim to fame growing up in Winston-Salem, N.C., is that Henry and several family members officiate AAU and YMCA games.
That didn't stop him from observing Thursday, "By the way, I'm a better hooper than (Higgins) is."
Clemson looked at Henry as both a tight end and a defensive end and left it up to him to decide. When reminded that Hobby urged him to switch to defensive end, "because tight ends drive 150s. Defensive ends drive a Lexus," Henry smiled.
"That sounds like something he'd say," Henry said. "But I was going to play defensive end anyway."
PRACTICE SQUAD ADDITIONS: The Bengals added four players from other teams to their 16-man practice squad. Here's a look and some thoughts from the Bengals personnel people who scouted them:
G Tashawn Manning 6-4, 340, Kentucky; First year: Played three years at Auburn … Signed with Baltimore as a college free agent in 2023…. Spent rookie season on practice squad … waived Tuesday …He joins backup center-guard Trey Hill as the interior players behind backup rookie center Matt Lee and backup rookie guard tackle Jaxson Kirkland on the roster …
SCOUT's TAKE: Big and strong. Long arms. He has experience playing multiple positions. He's a powerful guy who gets movement in the run game and can anchor in the pass game. Knows the AFC North from his time in Baltimore. He's a physical, heavy-handed guy.
RB Kendall Milton 6-1, 230, Georgia; Rookie: Signed with Philadelphia as college free agent … rushed for 49 yards on 15 carries in preseason … One TD … Waived Tuesday … The Bengals feel like they made a huge upgrade with the signing … Milton, the only back on the PS, is the fourth back behind Chase Brown, Zack Moss and Trayveon Williams on the roster …
SCOUT's TAKE: Played in a rotation at Georgia, but you can see when you go out on the field why he was a huge recruit for them. Very talented. Great size. Runs hard. Good pro tape in pass protection. High character.
DT Justin Rogers 6-3, 335, Auburn; Rookie: Seventh-round pick of Dallas … played 111 snaps in preseason … One pressure … three tackles … waived Tuesday …He joins vet Domenique Davis as the two defensive tackles on the practice squad behind backup interior players Kris Jenkins Jr., Zach Carter, Jay Tufele and, eventually, the injured McKinnley Jackson on the roster …
SCOUT's TAKE: We had him in here on a visit and got to know him. Big nose tackle. Strong and powerful. Plays stout in the run game. He's a guy we liked in the draft. We don't have a lot of those big nose tackle body types. He can take up blocks. He's got some size and length and he can collapse the pocket. Like the Cowboys, we thought he was draftable.
DE Isaiah Thomas 6-5, 270, Oklahoma; Second Year: Here's another move that makes them feel better about the edge compared to about 72 hours ago … Seventh-round pick of Cleveland in 2022 … Played in 10 games as a rookie for Browns … 162 snaps … Nine tackles, one sack, two passes defensed … His one sack came vs. Bengals … Spent 2023 season on Browns practice squad … waived Tuesday … He becomes seventh edge behind the three backups on the roster, Joseph Ossai, rookie Cedric Johnson, and waiver-wire pickup K.J. Henry and eventually, the injured Myles Murphy …
SCOUT's TAKE: He's played in real games for Cleveland. They've got a deep roster up there. He's got good size. Length to collapse the pocket. Pretty good with his hands. He can help against the run and as a pass rusher."
SLANTS AND SCREENS: Wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase didn't practice Thursday amid his contract situation, but head coach Zac Taylor is confident he'll be ready when the bell rings because he's done everything else.
"He's been in every meeting, so he knows everything," Taylor said before Thursday's practice. "He's been in the system now for three years that he's played, a fourth year now, he knows everything. He's very on top of it." …
Hubbard isn't sure if Thursday was the hottest practice in his seven-year tenure, but he knew what the number was on the Bengals.com board overlooking the Kettering Health Practice Fields from 1:30 -3:15.
"Ninety-five," Hubbard said. "It's never been triple digits." …
The sense is that when Chase returns and is playing Opening Day, sophomore Andrei Iosivas will get the bulk of the snaps in the slot, replacing the 513 catches of Tyler Boyd.
There figures to be a diet in there of tight ends Mike Gesicki and Tanner Hudson, and maybe a dose of wide receiver Charlie Jones and running back Chase Brown. And, of course, Chase.
It looks and sounds like Iosivas is the third guy. Taylor can't say enough about him.
"He wants to be a great player and he wants to learn all the nuances of that position. It's different than being outside," Taylor said. "He's got the ability to do everything for us. But you've seen this training camp, he's focused more in there in the slot, so that gives us a lot of flexibility. He's taken the right approach to it. He's trying to learn every single day and (is) constantly improving. I really liked what I've seen from him." …
There's been a buzz that the return of safety Vonn Bell has helped fire up a feel of the 2021 and 2022 defenses that were the backbone of the playoff runs.
(In '22, the defense scored the winner in the Wild Card, held the Bills to 10 points in the divisional round, and gave Patrick Mahomes just 23 points, the last three at the gun.)
Taylor seems to agree.
"They've got a ton of confidence in each other. I think each guy to a man has always had confidence in themself, and now that has spread over to the entirety of the unit," Taylor said. "They expect to dominate and you hear about it when they do well. I like that in practice. That kind of ramps up the energy level a little bit. There's just tremendous leadership among the veterans, there's great energy among the young guys. That unit is in a really good place right now."
