BENGALS TRAINING CAMP DAY 3 HIGHLIGHTS AND RECAP
We are officially three days into Cincinnati Bengals Training Camp at Paycor Stadium.
With Day 3 behind us, we have plenty to unwrap and watch after another full practice with the full team.
Before practice, it was announced that free agent cornerback Nate Brooks has signed with the Bengals, who spent time with the 49ers last season and earned All-UFL honors with the Michigan Panthers last season.
The Bengals also signed wide receiver Hakeem Butler after he worked out for the team, as well as punter Ryan Rehkow.
First and foremost, let’s clear the air... Or hair, if you will...
BJ Hill has still not held his end of the bargain of bleaching his hair with Joe Burrow.
Zac Taylor and Joe Burrow both said that he would be taking things slow throughout camp, not throwing every day to keep his wrist healthy.
Although Burrow did not throw much today, he was working on his skills as a punter.
Tee Higgins was practicing again today and went through team stretches, but Ja’Marr Chase was not in uniform for practice.
Along with Chase, Sam Hubbard, and Trey Hendrickson did not practice today. Seems like Zac Taylor is working to give veterans extended breaks to ensure all starters are as healthy as possible.
This is something that Taylor hit on during his press conference earlier this week.
Special teams worked through some of the new kickoff rules this afternoon, which look completely different from what we are all accustomed to.
It also appears that Chase Brown was returning kickoffs as well.
One star continues to shine early in training camp, and that is new tight end Mike Gesicki.
With Burrow out today, Jake Browning connected with Gesicki and others throughout the afternoon.
We also got our first look at the newest Bengals signee, Hakeem Butler.
Butler visited the Bengals this week after a breakout season in the UFL with the St. Louis Battlehawks. He was the UFL 2024 Offensive Player of the Year.
On the defensive side, DJ Turner had another solid practice this afternoon.
During practice, people started to realize that Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid was in attendance, or at least someone who looked like him...
A few takeaways from day three of training camp:
- No Ja’Marr Chase still. It’s part of the plan, according to Zac Taylor.
- Burrow stays busy with other parts of the team during throwing day off.
- DJ Turner looks great.
- Tee Higgins is 100% locked in after another full day of practice.
- The Bengals have a large number of weapons and are looking to get plenty of reps in during camp.
- Chase Brown and Zack Moss look FUN, but Brown seems to be with the 1s more at the moment.
- Zac Taylor plans to continue resting veterans as much as possible to ensure health and give younger guys plenty of reps.