Saquon Barkley, Derrick Henry among 12 key RBs set to make impact on new teams
Nearly half of all NFL teams are set to have a new starting RB in 2024. We rate 12 key newcomers on the impact they're likely to have.JULY 31
CINCINNATI BENGALS 4-7 · 3RD IN AFC NORTH
4-7 · 3RD IN AFC NORTH
Next Game vs Steelers · Sun 6:00PM
CIN -2.5 TOTAL 47
Tycen Anderson - Participating in training camp Anderson (knee) is healthy again, John Sheeran of AZ Sports reports.
Impact Anderson has fully recovered from a torn ACL he suffered during Week 8 of last season. The 2022 fifth-round pick will now spend the remainder of the summer competing for a roster spot, where he can add value both as a reserve defender and as a special teamer.
JULY 31 • ROTOWIRE
Ohio bill would require pro teams to play on natural grass, not artificial turf
Professional sports teams across Ohio would be required to use playing surfaces of not less than 90% natural grass under a new billJULY 30 • ASSOCIATED PRESS
16 Highest-paid NFL QBs: Where does Patrick Mahomes rank after deal?
Patrick Mahomes is no longer one of the ten highest-paid QBs on an annual basis, but he doesn't "necessarily" feel underpaid.JULY 29
Sam Hubbard - Avoids serious injury Hubbard, who injured his knee during Sunday's practice, received good test results and should be okay, Chris Roling of USA Today reports.
Impact Hubbard left Sunday's practice in a cart, but it appears that he avoided what could have been a serious injury. It's unclear when Hubbard is expected to return to the field, but once the 29-year-old is healthy again, he's expected to line up alongside Trey Hendrickson and continue rushing the passer at a high level for the Bengals' defense in 2024.
JULY 29 • ROTOWIRE
Ja'Marr Chase - Still not practicing Chase (contract) isn't practicing Monday and isn't likely to practice Tuesday, James Rapien of SI.com reports.
Impact Chase continues to "hold in" due to his desire for a new contract, watching from the sidelines rather than participating. He's coming up on a full week of missed practices, and it's hard to get a good read on the situation given that he's not discussing it with media (or even acknowledging that his absence is contract-related). Bengals owner Mike Brown said last week that it might take a while to finalize an extension, perhaps setting the table for Chase to remain absent from practice into August. The Bengals typically have avoided extensions with players that have multiple years remaining on rookie contracts, but Chase would be a sensible exception in light of three straight 1,000-yard seasons to open his career. He's currently under contract through 2025 via the fifth-year option on his rookie deal.
JULY 29 • ROTOWIRE
Sports betting roundup: Player prop bets hit at the Olympics when the U.S. beat Serbia
The Paris Olympics have started and five of the most-bet player props for the opening U.S. men’s basketball game hit at the BetMGM online sportsbookJULY 29 • ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sam Hubbard - Dealing with knee injury Hubbard (ankle/knee) suffered a knee injury at practice Sunday, Dan Graziano of ESPN.com reports.
Impact Hubbard was carted off with a knee injury Sunday, but his MRI came back with "good" results according to Graziano and the defensive lineman is expected to be alright. Cincinnati appears to have avoided a disaster and Hubbard will once again direct his attention to being ready to go for the team's first preseason game Aug. 10 versus the Buccaneers.
JULY 29 • ROTOWIRE
Sam Hubbard - Carted off Sunday Hubbard (ankle) was forced to take a cart off of the practice field Sunday, Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic reports.
Impact Hubbard has been working his way back from offseason ankle surgery and it's unclear if Sunday's issue was a result of the recovering ankle or something separate. The defensive lineman initially walked off the field with a trainer, but he ultimately hopped on a cart to take him back to the locker room during the team's 11-on-11 session. The Bengals will reconvene for practice Monday and more information on his status will likely be provided then.
JULY 29 • ROTOWIRE
Erick All Jr. - Brought off NFI list The Bengals activated All (knee) from the active/NFI list Sunday.
Impact All has been recovering from a torn ACL suffered last October, and he opened training camp on the active/NFI list on July 20. The rookie fourth-round pick out of Iowa will now be cleared to practice for the first time after finally passing a physical examination. All logged 21 catches for 299 yards and three touchdowns over just seven games during his final collegiate season. He will look to ramp up in time for the Bengals' first preseason game Aug. 10 versus Tampa Bay.
JULY 28 • ROTOWIRE
Chase Brown - Working with starters a lot Brown took a majority of first-team reps during the first three practices of training camp, Charlie Clifford of NBC 5 Cincinnati reports.
Impact Free-agent signing Zack Moss is healthy and also getting some first-team work, but apparently not quite as much as Brown, a 2023 fifth-round pick who averaged 8.8 touches for 53.7 yards over the final six weeks of last season. It was a promising finish to his rookie year, with the stipulation that Brown's production came from a few big plays rather than snap-to-snap consistency (he also played only eight snaps on offense before Week 13). There are some other positives in his profile, including a 4.43 40-yard dash (at 5-foot-10, 209 pounds) and a senior season at Illinois with 355 touches for 1,883 yards and 13 TDs. The question now is whether Brown shows enough skill development to earn a starting job over the steady-but-boring Moss.
JULY 28 • ROTOWIRE
Hakeem Butler - Joins up with Bengals Cincinnati signed Butler on Friday.
Impact Butler hasn't played a regular-season NFL snap since 2020, but he'll now get a chance to make an impression on the Bengals' coaching staff ahead of the 2024 campaign. In any case, he'll be a long-shot to make the final 53-man roster.
JULY 26 • ROTOWIRE
Bengals sign UFL Offensive Player of the Year, Battlehawks WR Hakeem Butler
The Bengals signed 2024 UFL Offensive Player of the Year and former Battlehawks standout receiver Hakeem Butler on Friday.JULY 26
Andrei Iosivas - Early favorite for No. 3 job? Bengals WRs coach Troy Walters recently said Iosivas is "probably No. 3" on the depth chart at the moment, Paul Dehner of The Athletic reports.
Impact With Ja'Marr Chase (contract) not practicing and Tee Higgins being eased in after missing the offseason program, a number of players are getting first-team WR reps early in training camp. Iosivas seems to be at the top of that list, including Wednesday when he exclusively worked from the slot. He doesn't fit the typical slot mold at 6-foot-3, 205 pounds, but he'll need some level of comfort there in order to win the No. 3 job, even if Tyler Boyd's offseason departure leads to Chase playing inside more often. While Iosivas was limited to 15 catches and 266 snaps last season after the Bengals drafted him in the sixth round, there's no doubt he has sufficient raw physical tools to succeed in the NFL, having run a 4.43 40 at the 2023 Combine. Incoming third-round pick Jermaine Burton has similar speed (4.45 40) and faced SEC competition rather than Iosivas' Ivy League opponents at Princeton, but Burton isn't quite as big (6-foot, 196 pounds) and seems to be further down the depth chart at the start of training camp. Trenton Irwin and Charlie Jones may also be candidates for the No. 3 job.
JULY 26 • ROTOWIRE
Playing with a franchise tag, WR Tee Higgins wants one more shot at the Super Bowl with the Bengals
Bengals receiver Tee Higgins signed his franchise tender and reported for the opening of training campJULY 26 • ASSOCIATED PRESS
Mike Gesicki - Showing chemistry with Burrow Gesicki already seems to have good chemistry with QB Joe Burrow, SI's James Rapien reports.
Impact It sounds like the tight end is getting a lot of first-team reps early in training camp, which wasn't a sure thing after he had only 244 yards for the Patriots last season and then got only $240,000 guaranteed this spring on his one-year, $2.5 million contract with the Bengals. It's backup money by most standards, yet enough to make Gesicki a starting candidate in a TE room where the other veteran options are Drew Sample and Tanner Hudson. The Bengals also have two rookie draft picks, fourth-rounder Erick All (knee) and sixth-rounder Tanner MacLachlan, but Gesicki is shaping up as an early favorite to lead the team's tight ends in targets.
JULY 26 • ROTOWIRE
Titans cornerback Chido Awuzie sidelined a couple of weeks by injured calf
Tennessee Titans cornerback Chidobe Awuzie will miss a couple of weeks of training camp with a calf injuryJULY 25 • ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ja'Marr Chase - Present but not practicing Chase (contract) is present on the sideline but not practicing for the second straight day at Bengals camp Thursday, Kelsey Conway of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
Impact One of the many star wideouts across the league looking for a new contract, Chase is following Brandon Aiyuk's lead and "holding in" at Bengals camp. He's observed workouts from the side each of the first two days of training camp. In addition to Aiyuk and Chase, CeeDee Lamb is another receiver looking for a big extension, except Lamb is away from the team completely and is holding out. Bengals owner Mike Brown recently said Chase's extension could take a while.
JULY 25 • ROTOWIRE
Devin Cochran - On roster bubble In his 53-man roster projection for the Bengals, Paul Dehner of The Athletic has Cochran (knee) as a likely cut candidate following the conclusion of training camp.
Impact Signed by the Bengals in 2022 as an undrafted free agent out of Georgia Tech, Cochran spent his entire rookie season on the practice squad after failing to impress during his short playing time during the preseason. His 2023 season was cut short after he was placed on injured reserve in July with a knee injury. Now healthy, Cochran will have a chance to catch onto the Bengals' 53-man roster as a depth offensive lineman, though he faces an uphill battle as training camp gets underway.
JULY 25 • ROTOWIRE
With hair newly cut and dyed, Bengals QB Joe Burrow says his wrist feels good as training camp opens
Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow showed up for the first day of training camp with a new close-cropped, blond haircutJULY 24 • ASSOCIATED PRESS
Ja'Marr Chase refuses to directly acknowledge Patrick Mahomes: 'I'm not saying his name'
The AFC rivalry between the Bengals and the Chiefs is alive and well, as Ja'Marr Chase refused to say Patrick Mahomes' name when asked in a...JULY 24
Why the Bengals and Joe Burrow are poised to bounce back in 2024
As Joe Burrow showed when reporting to training camp, the swagger is back for the Bengals. Here's why they could be a playoff power again.JULY 24
Which NFL quarterbacks deserve to be paid the most? Colin Cowherd picks his top 10
Colin Cowherd unveiled his Top 10 most valuable NFL QBs, including Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson and Matthew Stafford.JULY 24
Trent Brown - Lands on NFI list The Bengals placed Brown (undisclosed) on the active/Non-Football Injury list Tuesday.
Impact Brown can be activated at any point throughout training camp once he is over his unspecified injury. After spending the last three seasons with the Patriots, Brown signed a one-year, $4.75 million contract with the Bengals in March of 2024, and he's slated to start at right tackle.
JULY 23 • ROTOWIRE
