CINCINNATI — The feel around Paycor Stadium is already much different this year.
There’s less drama and more focus on the task at hand. Zac Taylor was reminded of that in the days after Dexter Lawrence was acquired in a trade with the New York Giants on the Saturday night before the NFL Draft just five days later.
Dexter Lawrence II didn’t wait to familiarize himself with his new surroundings. He showed up right away and has been a fixture in and around Paycor Stadium, setting an example for younger and older players alike that he is serious about bringing an urgency and professionalism to the locker room that was lacking in the last couple of seasons, at least on the defensive side.
Leadership doesn’t always produce results but when you’re near the bottom in almost every defensive metric the time clearly had come to overhaul the image and the personnel. That’s why Lawrence has showed up day in and day out, that and he like everyone else in Stripes wants that elusive first Vince Lombardi Trophy.
“I think it has been an impact. I was shocked that he was here every day, right after we traded for him, that he chose to just jump right in and not miss a day initially,” Taylor said. “I think that just shows — I hate to speak for him — the excitement that he has to be here with these guys in the locker room. I’ve had a chance to meet with him one on one several times. Love the personality because that’s something you don’t know until you really get to know the guy. There’s certainly a level of excitement when the organization takes a swing on a guy like that and gives up the 10th pick in the draft and gets a known commodity. That really has uplifted this locker room, and guys are excited to be around him. And he’s going to make everyone around him better, both sides of the ball, really. It’s been really fun being around him and seeing him work and how he goes about his business.”
It’s not just the players that get a jolt.
“When you get access to a tremendous player like him, like Jonathan Allen, like Boye Mafe in addition to all the guys up front that have already been in the system — young guys, older guys — it’s just exciting,” Taylor said. “To add reinforcements to the trenches like that is good for a guy that calls plays on offense, too. I see that as the head coach. There’s a high level of excitement here and in the community amongst our entire fan base. I feel that all the time when I’m out in the public. It’s fun to be a part of because you can feel the energy, not only here in the locker room and the building, but elsewhere as well. Like I’ve said before, now it’s about us putting in the work and building the chemistry and going out there and winning football games.”
Lawrence was out on the rehab field this week, going through wind sprints and conditioning and getting into the playbook to assimilate to the Bengals systems. He was out there with BJ Hill, Kris Jenkins Jr., Jonathan Allen and Cedric Johnson, among others, smiling and laughing but also getting work done.
There will be no impromptu press conferences this season by a defensive edge looking for a new contract or complaining that he was dissed by the front office for not communicating. There will be no rookies holding out as Tacario Davis signed his deal on Wednesday, leaving only Cashius Howell unsigned. And it was Howell saying last Friday in rookie minicamp that all he wants to do at this point is play the sport he loves and that contract issues will work out.
No wonder Zac Taylor was smiling ear to ear.
Shemar Stewart is on a sugar-free diet, giving up all sugar in his drinks and going with water and coffee and diet drinks. His smile also spoke volumes Tuesday. He knows all he has to do this year is work on the “little details” that come with playing all over the defensive line. There is no burden of “default language” in his rookie deal.
“I think it’s great for Shemar,” Taylor said. “You get Year 1, all the things that happen your rookie year. Whether you were injured, not, now you just get a chance to go through a normal offseason for once. You don’t have the combine prep and not knowing where you are going to end up. For Shemar and all those rookies and a lot of those guys have played for us as we all know. Normal offseason, know what to expect, know what the scheme sounds like. Get a chance to have some really quality veterans around you that can help you as well, not only those guys but your position coaches. So, I’m excited for Shemar and the opportunity that’s in front of him. I know that he’s eager for that opportunity as well.”
Then there’s Myles Murphy. He’s the first-round pick from 2023 who did not have his $14 million fifth-year option picked up for 2027. Barring a long-term deal, he is playing for a potentially big payday opposite from Shemar Stewart and Boye Mafe. But the Bengals played it shrewdly with Murphy. They communicated with him upfront that they probably weren’t going to be able to pick up the fifth year because they just committed over $200 million to the defense in the additions of Lawrence, Allen, Cook, Mafe and Dugger.
“It’s just such a long season. You need that depth and those waves to continue to come at people,” Taylor said. “I think back to some of the better D-lines we played over my career and it is the ones that are just relentlessly coming at you. Feel like there is no drop off when they bring somebody else in because oftentimes you are looking four-five plays into a drive. Is that when they are going to sub their backups in? Sometimes you get a little more aggressive. With us, we’ve got those waves right now. Those guys have got to earn those opportunities to prove it all on the field. I’m just really excited about the high level of talent that we’ve got up front.”
Murphy finished last season with 5.5 sacks, including three in the final four games. He started to flash the kind of motor and consistent pressure that inspired the Bengals to spend first round capital on him in 2023.
“I think he’s just continued to take off, really, over the course of the last season and just this offseason of the things I’ve seen that he’s able to control right now,” Taylor told me. “Again, we’re not out there doing 11-on-11 or anything, so there’s nothing significant that way. I like Myles. Myles is really easy guy to pull for and I think he’s a guy that’s really taken advantage of the opportunities he’s been given and he’s really starting to — I don’t like the term ‘figured it out’ — but I think he’s got a lot of confidence right now and so he’s just got to continue to build on that.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a lack of maturity from him. And we explained the process to him, ‘this isn’t a negative on you.’ There are some years teams decline that option because they don’t believe in the player, that is not the case for us at all. We’ve got high hopes for him and would love him to be here long term, if it works out that way. It’s a great opportunity for him to go into a contract year and capitalize on it and everything I’ve seen from him, he’s putting in that work to make sure that he does that. That’s exciting to see.
There’s something else Taylor is noticing: players showing up early to workouts before practice. Why is that important?
“I think, as simple as it is, it’s just, who’s in the locker room in the morning more than five minutes before the meeting starts,” Taylor said. “And we got a really great group of guys right now that I’m seeing that from some of the young players. You look at the guys who have played seven to 10 years in the league, they’re usually here about an hour before we get started whether it’s prehab, whether it’s eating breakfast. And there’s that calmness before I actually have to do something — I have to go lift, I have to go meet — so you feel less rushed and more prepared. I think, usually I can see that with a young guy, if a young guy is here pretty early, consistently over time.
“I’ve seen some of our second and third year guys now, that are here significantly earlier than I’ve ever seen them before and that’s good. That means it’s starting to make sense to them. They’re starting to got see the pattern of guys who have succeeded in the NFL. They’re talented, but the intangibles is really what’s lifted them up. That falls on the players as well, the veteran players kind of give them a kick in the butt and do it. I think we’re at a really good place. It’s early in the offseason program still, but I really like what I’ve seen from a lot of the younger players in terms of having the pro mindset that we need for those guys to be successful.”
International Travelers:
The Bengals have been selected to play the Atlanta Falcons in Madrid, Spain as part of the NFL’s 2026 International Games. The game will take place on Sunday, Nov. 8 at Bernabéu Stadium and will air on NFL Network. Kickoff is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Eastern. This will be the third time the Bengals have played internationally and their first time in Madrid. The team previously played in London in 2016 and 2019. Madrid hosted its first NFL game last season as the league continues to strengthen its presence in Spain and focus on international growth. Bernabéu Stadium established itself as a key venue for the NFL in Europe and is one of the most recognizable stadiums in the world.
“We are excited to take the Bengals abroad again and build upon the incredible support of our global fanbase and help the league continue to grow the game of football across the world,” said Bengals Director of Strategy and Engagement Elizabeth Blackburn. “This Madrid game is a special opportunity to showcase the passion, energy and community that define the Bengals’ fandom worldwide.”
The official hospitality provider of the NFL, On Location has launched official ticket and travel packages for the NFL Madrid game at Bernabéu Stadium. On Location’s travel packages can include premium seating and fan parties, roundtrip airfare, deluxe hotels, guided tours and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities that will create lasting memories. Visit OnLocationExp.com/BengalsSpain to learn more about attending the Madrid game.
“It’s a great opportunity to promote the game internationally,” Taylor said. “We have a tremendous team with a lot of high-end talent. To take center stage in the world (is) exciting for everybody. To promote the Bengals’ brand internationally, I think, is awesome. I think that’s something that would be fun to do. I’m all for it and it would be a blast.”
Schedule finality:
The suspense ends Thursday night at 7:30 p.m. ET as the full NFL schedule is released. Now that we know the Bengals will be in Madrid for Week 9 on Nov. 8, will the bye come before or after? Will the Bengals open on the road? Will the Bengals play in Baltimore on primetime for a fifth straight year?
“I think I would be surprised, but (I’m) prepared for it, if that’s what they choose to do to us for the fifth straight year,” Taylor said to the unique challenge of playing a division rival on the road at night. “I think we’ve done them all in all different forms and fashions — early, late, middle, holidays, whatever it is. I feel like we have a good sense of what works for us. And so whenever we get the template of what we’re doing, we’ll be able to make it work with how we want to do things.”
Taylor just can’t wait to finally start preparing for games.
“The first game. Really just the first game,” he said. “It’s interesting to see how the rest of it plays out. But again, we’ve all experienced so many seasons. This season can evolve so differently in terms of teams that are hot at different points of the season, so you don’t read anything into that. You try to anticipate some weather. That’s always a fun thing as a team playing up north. We like to play in colder weather here and get warm-weather teams up here. So that’s something I always peek at — who could be coming up here when it’s maybe a little colder and (they’re) not used to it and what type of weather you can anticipate. I think that’s just the former quarterback in me. We check the weather every day leading up to the game to see if it’s going to rain or not or snow or any of that stuff.”
