Bengals Beat: Lawrence Guy Signed To Bolster Banged Up DL, Zac Taylor Sees Hope ‘Going To Be In The Right Direction Now’

CINCINNATI — The Bengals are in desperate need of reinforcements on the defensive line.

Kris Jenkins Jr. is coming off right thumb surgery and may be available this coming Monday night against Washington. BJ Hill and Sheldon Rankins both suffered hamstring injuries in the sweltering heat of Arrowhead on Sunday. And rookie McKinnley Jackson is still on IR with a right knee injury.

It got so bad Sunday that Lou Anarumo said that if Jay Tufele or Zach Carter went down, Sam Hubbard would’ve “slugged it out” to fill in the gap.

So, to address the depth issues that are clearly hindering the Bengals defensive line, the team worked out to veteran free agents in Lawrence Guy and Albert Huggins. They decided to go with Guy, the 34-year-old former Baltimore and New England defensive end who is also very stout against the run.

The Bengals announced his signing as a defensive tackle but he has played primarily on the edge in 3-4 stand-up schemes. The Bengals, of course, go more with the base nickel and four-man front, and Guy can play inside the tackle or on the edge. So there’s tremendous versatility associated with his game.

Anarumo switched to some 4-3 looks on Sunday to account for the fact that middle of the defensive line was 3-tech heavy with only Jay Tufele serving as a nose.

Guy, at 6-4, 315, is a 14th-year player out of Arizona State University, originally was a seventh-round draft pick of Green Bay in 2011. He has spent time on the active rosters of the Indianapolis Colts (2012-13), San Diego Chargers (’13-14), Baltimore Ravens (’14-15) and New England Patriots (’17-23).

In 177 regular-season games played (122 starts), he has totaled 507 tackles (271 solos), 39 TFLs, 17.0 sacks, 10 PDs, one INT, two FFs and six FRs. He also has played in 13 postseason games (nine starts). Guy was released by the Patriots in February.

To make room on the 53-man roster, the Bengals waived defensive end K.J. Henry, a second-year player acquired on waivers by the Bengals on Aug. 28. He played in each of the team’s first two regular-season games.

The Bengals also released wide receiver Shedrick Jackson from the practice squad. Jackson, a first-year player, originally was a college free agent signee of the Bengals in 2023. With the practice squad currently one spot shy of the 16-player limit, Henry is a candidate to return to the PS if not claimed on waivers.

Here’s what Guy can bring to the Bengals if he can stay on the field:

4-5 tech inside the tackle to DE

Versatility to play inside as a DT, which he did in 2018 and 2020 in New England

Stoudt run defender/won’t get moved

Not particularly heavy on pass rush

Veteran great influence/leader in locker room

Super Bowl LIII champion

Can take on double-teams

A steal of a pickup if he can stay on the field at 34

Hopeful tone:

Not only did the Bengals play much better Sunday in the one-point loss to Kansas City, their coach felt something positive about the pain everyone was feeling in the locker room after, and what it could mean for the emotional growth of the team going forward.

“Standing in the locker room after the game, you can see the emotion with the guys, how much they poured onto that field and how much that game meant to them and how disappointed they were, and it’s a strange thing to say but that puts me in such a positive mindset going forward, just where this team is at and how much they care to take that loss so personally,” Taylor told me. “And guys feel like, ‘Man, it was maybe my play’ when it’s not. That’s big picture, it’s absolutely not, and I like that Daijahn competes as hard as anybody out there, and I want that from him. I want that from Joseph Ossai. Guys play hard and sometimes it won’t go your way. That’s not going to change our process, and we want guys that care that much to where it affects them that way and there’s other guys that can lift them up. That’s what I like about this team.”

Is there something unique about this 0-2 start compared to the last two?

“They are all disappointing,” Taylor said. “Certainly, all the work we put in in the offseason and training camp and you feel really good, and so you don’t anticipate this start. That’s not what we anticipated, but at the same time, there’s a lot of things we continue to build off of and we’re going to be in the right direction now.

“We’ve got to treat this week just like last week, and everyone’s got to be on top of all the details, and we can’t give these guys an inch and we’ve got to find a way to make every play we can and get this first win, but there’s still a lot of football left to play. I’m confident the guys are going to respond the right way this week.”

No regrets:

If you think Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo has any regrets about having Daijahn Anthony on the field for the 4th-and-16 play and rushing only three on Patrick Mahomes, think again.

“Yeah, I think, we got a bunch of guys right at the sticks, and, like playing with vision and so, as opposed to, maybe, as I mentioned, a two or three technique (defensive tackle) that might be exhausted and can’t really move. It was really hot (Sunday) so we play it by ear, but I’d call that 100 out of 100 times, if anybody’s questioning it.

“We teach our guys to be aggressive and be aggressively smart. We don’t want them being timid and they catch the ball and everybody wants to know why. It was a bang-bang play, and unfortunately it went against us. We had two DTs for the game once the fourth quarter rolled around, so my decisions with three, four or whatever in terms of rushing. We had two guys who were playing every snap. I thought it was best to put fresh legs out there on the most important down and get something out of them as opposed to somebody who was exhausted and can’t rush.”

CTB one tough SOB:

Lou Anarumo had zero doubt that Cam Taylor-Britt would bounce back immediately from the 44-yard touchdown pass he surrendered to Rashee Rice in the second quarter. Indeed, Anarumo watched as Taylor-Britt had the spectacular one-handed pick of Mahomes on the same route intended for Xavier Worthy.

“100 percent. Don’t forget what football is. If you’re not a tough human being, if you’re not tough, you’ll struggle to survive in this league,” Anarumo said. “He’s one tough SOB. We’ve got a lot of them. If you’re not mentally and physically tough… when you give up a play you can’t go over there and pout. If I make a bad call, I’m not going to pout. I’m going to move onto the next one. They all have that collective mindset. We’ll be tough. We’ll slug this out for the whole game. One more DT, what are you going to do? Jay and Zach Carter were troopers yesterday. Sam Hubbard would have probably went in there and slugged it out.”

Anarumo called it the best interception he’s seen since Brent Grimes picked off Matthew Stafford in the end zone in Detroit in 2014.