CINCINNATI – We’ve reached the part of training camp and preseason where it’s time to start paying closer attention to the battles in the trenches and at key positions on the perimeter that will help shape the character and depth of this talented Bengals roster.
The biggest development Monday was the release of veteran swing tackle Cody Ford. The 29-year-old was let go after a rough final preseason game with the Bengals on Saturday, when he committed two holding penalties and committed two false starts in the first half. The team wants to see what they have in 2025 fifth round pick Jalen Rivers and 2024 fourth rounder Javon Foster, selected originally by the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“Respect for Cody, really,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said. “He’s given us a lot over the last three and a half years. I really appreciate that from Cody. So just give him a head head start, really, on the whole process. I thought was the right thing to do. And you just think back. I mean, I always think back to Cody. I mean, he served a lot of roles for us. A lot of times, not a lot of prep work. I mean, there was times we practiced him as a guard, and then the next week started him at tackle in games, having to block some big-time rushers in this league, and just always appreciative of of the role Cody played for us, the attitude he had.
“There was never a moment where he said, ‘Man, I’m at guard all week, and I’m playing tackle.’ or ‘He practiced me at tackle, and I’m playing guard.’ There was none of that. It was just whatever I got to do to help the team. And so, he’s he’s made a really strong impression on me ever since the draft process.”
Ford was drafted by the Bills in 2019 and played three years in Buffalo before moving onto Arizona in 2022 and Cincinnati in 2023.
“We liked him from the draft process, and then we acquired him years later and gave us three good years of football,” Taylor said. “And now wish him the best on the next part of his journey.”
As for finding that swing tackle?
“Well, still this whole thing’s not concluded yet,” Taylor said. “It’s more I want to give Cody a little bit of a head start on this whole process.”
What are the Bengals looking for in terms of traits?
“I’ve said the word a lot: consistency,” Taylor said. “Want someone who just wants to take it and run with it, and we can’t do without. And I think when those players show that and they they grab the job, then it’s it’s not necessarily difficult to make it. And so again, we still have time on our hands and still waiting to see, you know, someone just grab some of those jobs and take them. We really got three practices this week. It can go into next week as well. I know cuts are falling this week, but you know I really look at as there’s there’s about five practices left to sort all that out.
“Infinity factors go into it. You take in the whole picture. What’s their understanding of what we’re trying to accomplish on offense, the scheme? How coachable are they? When they get one-on-one pass-pro situations, how do they handle it? How do they understand where their help is when we’re trying to help them? What’s you know what kind of movement? How do they get in the run game? You really factor in all the critical mistakes. What are their critical mistakes? You know, can that can that get us beat? Can we can we live with that? So I think there’s a lot of. I didn’t list infinity, but I listed you several.”
Could it be a player like Jalen Rivers or Javon Foster?
“In some moments, that may factor in, but at the same time, maybe it’s an ascending player that just hasn’t had the opportunity yet, and and so they’re starting to figure it out, and so you think, okay, there’s some upside here, so I think it’s a balance of both ways. We’ve, you know, been here a long time and played with a lot of tackles, and feel like we we can always manage situations when a backup goes in a game. And and I mean, I can I feel like I can name 15 tackles we played with at some point, you know, and the different things that we tried to do schematically to help them. So I feel like we’ve got a lot of experience there… I think we’re always open to everything. These guys are really competing. I feel like I’d like to see someone grab it and and us be able to say that. But certainly, with with time still to practice, we got some stuff to sort out.”
The battle between those two will continue Friday night in Philadelphia, as the Bengals look to see which one can project to start with the club on the 53-man and which one is more likely to land on the practice squad if they clear waivers.
The battle at this point appears too close to call but Jalen Rivers did have a strong finish in camp on Monday, holding up strong at right tackle opposite Cashius Howell.
Iron Sharpens Iron:
Ja’Marr Chase and DJ Turner continue to do battle all over the field, with Turner knocking down no fewer than three Burrow passes intended for Chase before getting flagged for pass interference for hugging and tackling Chase near the goal line. Turner recovered nicely with two knockdowns in the end zone before Chase went inside of Jalen Davis and beat Turner, who outside leverage and couldn’t get over on the in-slant in time to prevent the easy TD. Chase booted the ball into the air in relief while Turner voiced his displeasure with the DPI and let the officials know it.
The more intriguing matchup was rookie Bobo Davis on the field with the first team D, getting reps opposite Tee Higgins and holding his own. Were the coaches putting him in the lineup to give Tee Higgins a taste of taller defenders that could be on him during the season or do they really believe Davis could be ready to play on the outside if either Turner or Dax Hill are not ready?
Without question, the biggest hit of the day was applied by Dexter Lawrence II on Samaje Perine as the running back was releasing over the middle in a pass route. Lawrence saw him out of the corner of his eye and as he was pulling back off the defensive line, Lawrence decleated Perine, leaving Perine on the field for a couple of minutes to gather his senses. Perine was treated by trainer Matt Summers and cleared to re-enter practice for the final 15 minutes.
Thanks C.J.:
After practice, former Bengal tight end C.J. Uzomah met with reporters to discuss why retiring a Bengal in a ceremonial signing meant so much to him. He left after the 2021 season, signing a three-year, $24 million contract with Jets before signing in 2024 with the Eagles and earning a Super Bowl LIX ring with the Eagles.
“Truthfully, even when I left, I was like, I want to end my career in Cincinnati,” Uzomah said. “And timing-wise, for me, it’s just been a lot going on family-wise, having a daughter and getting married, and just slowing down for for a solid year, and being like, okay, let’s let’s take a breath and reset, and it’s been nice for me. So, yeah, it’s now it’s like all right, cool. Like the timing worked out well with with Cincinnati, and yeah, it was just time.”
Uzomah will be doing work on the Bengals radio network during the season, contributing to the team of Dan Hoard, Dave Lapham and Tony Pike.
Bengals Camp Day 16 Monday:
* Long practice that lasted just 2 hours
* Ended on a 61 yard successful field goal from Evan McPherson
* Bryan Cook returned to practice, took part an individual drills, but not 11 on 11 or 7 on 7
* BJ Hill returned to take part in his first 11 on 11 drills since being activated off PUP
* Dax Hill still not dressing
* Colbie Young also appeared to get shaken up after falling on a sideline route but had helmet in hand and appeared fine
* Josh Newton continued his late strong push in Camp, picked off a Flacco pass for Colbie Young
