The preseason is over, and the Cincinnati Bengals have trimmed their roster down to the 53 men they hope will win them the city’s first Super Bowl. Now that training camp and the offseason program are officially over, the Bengals are getting to work on preparing for their first game that actually matters, against the Buccaneers at home on September 13.
As part of getting ready for the game, head coach Zac Taylor talked to the media about the health status of a few players, including two bona fide star wide receivers—Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
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“He’ll be limited throughout the week, but I feel good about him,” he said about Chase. “Shemar will be on the rehab field this week. Tee has a little heel contusion that’ll limit him this week.”
It obviously sounds like both will be back in time for the team’s Week 1 game in a couple of weeks, which is great news. Hopefully Shemar Stewart isn’t far behind them.
Here’s what else is going on:
The Bengals signed quarterback Josh Johnson to their practice squad on Monday. Both he and fellow backup quarterback Sean Clifford are on the practice squad, and this means the Bengals now have two quarterbacks on their roster who are 40 years of age or older—Johnson and Joe Flacco.
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“I feel like we added two guys to the mix, one on the 53, one on the practice squad, that have come in here and compete,” head coach Zac Taylor said. “We want to give all those guys a chance to continue to develop our depth that way.”
Charlie Jones, who was selected by the Bengals in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft, was released by the Bengals during final cuts. He had been the team’s return specialist when he was on the field, and was in the running for the WR6 spot with Ke’Shawn Williams and Mitchell Tinsley. The team went with Williams, and now Jones has been signed to the New York Giants practice squad.
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“There are big people all around the league,” Perine said, “but usually when they’re that big, they have a little give because they’re a little bit fluffy-ish. But with him, it’s just like a massive ball of muscle and there’s no moving him.”
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“We’ve got a real chance. We’ve got to play to it. A deep team. We’ve got to play to it. It’s an easy team to lead. A lot of guys that want to do the right thing all the time. High energy guys, too. One of the toughest (offensive line) rooms I’ve ever been a part of. Comes to work every day and fights through things.”
