ArmyBengal

To start, that game last night was about as fun of a preseason game as you were going to watch. Next, I saw that play where Howell steamrolled OBJ and put him on his ass. Impressive. Then, if you haven't seen Colbie Young making catches every damn practice, you are missing it. I think they may found a 4th rounder more than capable of filling in the rotation and pushing, if not replacing, Yoshi at the #3 spot. They didn't need to find a starter, but they may have just done that. Can't miss the 6'5 #86 on the field. Lastly, is it just me or every time there's a WR making a great catch, it's against Turner? I find myself saying, "C'mon Turner" when watching, but the offense is still lethal. Bring on next Thursday !!!

One week until the Bengals first preseason game. On the plus side of things in case someone wasn't paying attention, the Hall of Fame game is tonight with the Panthers and Cardinals kicking off the start of the preseason. This is the time of year where I would be happy to watch the Mother Mary of the Blind football team take the field, so color me happy that football is back !!

I am still really intrigued by what Bryan Cook is going to bring to the safety spot this year. That group was so woefully pitiful last year and he bring both a winning approach and leadership. Just hoping the addition of those veterans to the defense help Knight and Carter develop faster in year two.

I tend not to listen to anything coming out of camp anymore. I have been burned too many times with how (name your player) is the next coming and then there's nothing. Camp and preseason studs, especially the young guys, have a way of not getting snaps during the regular season. A quick look today reveals that not only WR Noah Thomas, but WR Dohnte Meyers have been standouts and are threats to steal a roster spot. This on a team that currently rosters Chase, Higgins, Iosivas, Jones, Young, Tinsley and at least 3 others I would guess are ahead of them on the depth chart. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing more talent in camp, but "A threat" for a roster spot? Possible, but not probable. Honestly, as much as Noah Thomas intrigues me and I want to see him play next Thursday, that's quite the uphill battle. Wish them the best of luck.

Here’s something else I was thinking about that is of interest to me. I initially didn’t think much of the Jonathan Allen signing and said something to the effect of how it would have been good 5 years ago. However this is where Dex Lawrence coming on board changes that thought to a degree toward the positive. Allen has averaged 5 sacks a year through his career and had 3.5 last season. That was his first and only season in Minnesota and didn’t have someone like Lawrence next to him. Do I think he’s going to All Pro this year? No, but at a minimum he’s an above average rotational piece and maybe more on this line.

The only thing worse than that would be to lose to the 49er's yet again. That might drive the final nail in my football fandom.

That’s hilarious and sad at the same time.

It’s been a while since I have been this excited to get the season going. Should certainly be fun to see it unfold.

Of course they are. How could I have missed such a transition? Silly me for worrying. Alright boys, bring on week 1. Our march to the Super Bowl begins now.

Happy to hear that for Stewart. No one wants to see a player go down. Just hope it's not something that lingers through the season and holds him back.

Isn't Robinson a DT or has he lined up outside as well?

Well, the way I look at that is Howell just moved up a slot or at least will now see more snaps. It will be interesting to see how they use him. He's just such a different DE than the Bengals typically go after. 6'2 and shorter arms but has great speed and solid pass rush moves. He's basically the next man up off the bench and I'm excited for him. They could use some more depth at the position if Stewart is out for the season, which is what it's looking like. Still waiting on confirmation from what I saw this morning.

Jesus Christ that's ugly. Hoping it's just a hyperextension without any other damage. I was really hoping Stewart would add some pop in the rotation.

So the Bengals are thought to have somewhere in the $16-$17m range of remaining cap space. I suspect they will see if there is anything that shakes free as training camp cuts come and the usual suspects. They could always cut players to make more room for a Turner extension, but that doesn't seem likely to me. The other thing that will be interesting to watch THIS training camp and season is how some of the players produce knowing they will be unrestricted free agents next season? Surely the Bengals are taking into consideration the starters on that list as well as many that will be getting extensive playing time as a part of their positional rotation and/or teams play. I would suspect guys like TJ Slaton, Cody Ford will be allowed to walk away, but it will be interesting to see it all shake out. Karras is up again, but they have to be looking at Connor Lew as his replacement in 2027 I would assume. Sample and Hudson at the TE position may walk, but only if Erick All can stay healthy. 7th rounder Jack Endries may flash. What happens at the safety spot after Cook? Battle and Dugger are both up next year. CB Jalen Davis, thought to be competing for the nickel spot joins Hill and Turner as UFA's. Then there are the bigger names like: Flacco Risner Murphy Hill Turner There are other guys I didn't even mention so seeing the Bengals take the wait and see shouldn't come as a surprise.

Here's my thing. DJ Turner should get paid, but he's not getting $30m per year. If he does, it's not from the Bengals. He should be paid in the top 10 in my opinion, but not sure the Bengals feel that way. I can't see the Bengals shelling out better than $20m per season, plus guarantees when they have him for a tick over $4m this year. I think it would be a mistake to let another top 10 talent at a defensive position walk away. Figure it out and get it done Bengals.