CINCINNATI — Logan Wilson slowly walked through the Bengals’ locker room following a two-and-a-half-hour practice that felt like it took place in an oven instead of the 96-degree practice fields.
Fresh out of the shower he had a look of disbelief on his face. That’s because he just got off the scale after what he said was one of the most exhausting practices in his five seasons in Cincinnati.
He weighed eight pounds less than when he started.
The linebacker texted his wife as he pounded fluids to let her know he hadn’t seen that number on the scale since high school.
It was that kind of a day. The ramp-up period is over. And a slew of players learned that the hard way.
From our NFL live blog:
Joe Burrow talks about how he’s been “able to give some insight” to Ja’Marr Chase amid extension conversations and how much time he thinks they’d need together before the #Bengals opener. https://t.co/MNj8uH3eQ2
— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) August 1, 2024
Multiple players left because of the heat including rookies Amarius Mims and Jermaine Burton. Mims said he was fine and will return tomorrow. Mike Hilton went out temporarily with a leg injury and cramps were as regular as touchdowns.
The most notable injury of the day came to backup defensive end Cam Sample, who went down holding his knee toward the end of practice and had to be taken off on a cart. No word yet on the extent of the injury, but he had his leg immobilized on a scooter in the locker room after practice.
Between the second practice in pads, first round of 11-on-11 drive-the-field drills and the longest session of camp, everyone needed to empty the tank to finish and the entire team was even forced to run an extra sideline-to-sideline at the end of the day.
Nestled between the sweat and fluids were a bevy of developments as coach Zac Taylor specifically set out to see what his team was made of on Thursday (and likely to do the same with an 11 a.m. practice Friday).
Young WRs making plays
Ja’Marr Chase sat out for the seventh consecutive practice amid contract extension negotiations, but routes designed for him didn’t take a break. Notably, as Joe Burrow and the first team drove to third-and-goal from the 3, they dialed up a route for second-year talk of camp Andrei Iosivas on the outside that’s been a Chase specialty.
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Burrow targeted Iosivas as he ran at Dax Hill then turned back to the front pylon to catch a sliding touchdown.
“When we install routes and concepts, we install how it is on paper then we look at how it’s actually run in the game,” Iosivas said. “I’ve had a little mental area of how Ja’Marr ran it and how he scored, so I pretty much tried to do the same thing and it worked.”
Quick snippet of four notable plays from today’s #Bengals practice.
1️⃣ Iosivas third-and-goal TD
2️⃣ Charlie Jones third-and-long conversion vs Hilton
3️⃣ Irwin drop up the seam
4️⃣ CTB nice read-and-react on third-and short for stop. pic.twitter.com/Nok5tiTtUn— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) August 1, 2024
The mere idea Iosivas is running the Chase red zone routes and is the primary target of Burrow for one of the most notable plays of camp thus far serves as the latest example of how Iosivas is viewed in advance of this year.
This play came only a few after 2023 fourth-round pick Charlie Jones beat Hilton outside on a third-and-long for a conversion to keep the drive alive. Earlier in the day, Taylor showed a highlight to the entire team of a route Jones ran over the middle of the field the day before. Up in weight and speed, he’s starting to find a rhythm with the pads on.
Burrow’s taking notice of — and enjoying — all of it.
“Andrei’s gonna have a year,” Burrow said. “I’m really excited about how he’s coming along. Wherever he ends up playing, whether it’s inside or outside, he’s able to do it all. And then Chuck is growing and learning every day. It’s exciting to see him get better. He’s having a really good camp, too. So those two guys have really grown and improved over the last eight to nine months, and that’s been fun to see.”
Back on that 9-5 grind 😏
Training Camp | @KetteringHealth pic.twitter.com/2cADbxTuYi
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) August 1, 2024
Higgins finding his footing
Burrow wasted no time refreshing his connection with Tee Higgins. On the first play of 11-on-11, Burrow launched a deep ball to Higgins lined up one-on-one against Cam Taylor-Britt. Higgins hauled in the go-ball and trotted to the end zone for his first deep connection of camp.
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“I didn’t have too many good one-on-one reps so I kind of needed that to get back on track,” Higgins said. “It means a lot as long as we get it down pat by Week 1 is all we are looking for.”
Higgins pulled down a back-shoulder jump ball down the opposite sideline later in practice over top of Hilton to convert a third down later. That was a quintessential rep for Higgins, reminiscent of his days tearing up the high school basketball courts of rural Tennessee.
“It’s a post-up play,” Higgins said. “Joe gave me a ball that was just me going to get a rebound.”
.@JoeyB with a dime to @teehiggins5
Training Camp | @KetteringHealth pic.twitter.com/Ef3Z3iM7TR
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) August 1, 2024
There have not been many deep connections to this point and one that looked to be on point to Trenton Irwin was tipped away at the last instant by safety Geno Stone. Burrow sees a work in progress there.
“I hit a couple today,” he said. “Not where I want it to be yet but I would say that about a lot of parts of our team right now. But that’s training camp. We’re improving every single day.”
Preseason plan divulged
Taylor said before training camp his expectation was for the starters to see time in preseason games this year. The defensive starters were given a series last year in Game 2 at Atlanta, but the offensive starters didn’t play with Burrow sidelined by a calf injury.
This year, with Burrow currently healthy, Taylor said the starters are expected to play in the preseason opener at home against Tampa Bay on Aug. 10.
Part of the reason to go with the first preseason game is the team will have joint practice before the second and third games against the Bears and Colts, respectively, where the starters will see plenty of action in a controlled environment.
Burrow noted he expects to get a drive and looks forward to building on the three career preseason snaps he logged in the year coming off his ACL tear. This was something he’s pushed for ever since his five-turnover performance in an opening loss to the Steelers in 2022.
“That is the best way to prepare for Week 1, I think,” Burrow said. “We’ll see. But I think we’re going about it the right way.”
Anthony hits two firsts
Daijahn Anthony might have been picked in the final round of the draft by the Bengals, but the Ole Miss defensive back enjoyed two notable firsts during the early portion of camp.
Last week, Anthony snagged the first interception of training camp for the Bengals in 11-on-11. Then, on Thursday, he jumped a route intended for tight end Mike Gesicki to notch the first interception of Burrow during camp.
He didn’t realize that was the case after practice as a smile came across his face.
“That’s crazy, for real?” he said. “God willing, just got to keep going.”
Anthony (6-0, 195 pounds) is viewed as a versatile piece in the defensive backfield for coordinator Lou Anarumo to evaluate. He’s playing safety but also can drop down to cover in the slot. He played outside corner early in his college career at Liberty.
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Maybe more importantly than a pick of Burrow he can tell his grandkids about, was the process of how it happened for him.
“In walkthroughs, I had that same route and my coaches and some of my teammates coached me up on how to play it and I just played it right and broke on the ball and it came right to me,” Anthony said.
(Photo of Charlie Jones: Phil Didion / USA Today)
