Bengals Preview: Rep Splits Lead Important Questions For Opener
Oct 8, 2023; Glendale, Arizona, USA; Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
After a busy offseason full of transactions, contract negotiations, trade requests, and getting a swanky new locker room, Bengals football is back! Tonight’s matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers is Zac Taylor’s first opportunity to look at his entire roster in action. It’s also Bengals fans’ first opportunity to get several questions answered regarding the team heading into 2024.
How Much Will Starters Play?
Head coach Zac Taylor has previously been hesitant to give his starters reps in order to avoid the risk of having one of his players suffer a significant injury in a meaningless game. Tonight, the big story in Bengals country is the fact that Joe Burrow will get in-game reps for the first time since suffering a season-ending knee injury in Week 11.
Taylor, who has not publicly revealed how much most of his starters will play against Tampa, says that Burrow does not need to prove anything to him. The important thing for both Taylor and Burrow is that they will finally give him in-game reps to prepare for the regular season, albeit on a limited basis.
“He knows how he feels better than I do,” Taylor said. “He’s gotten such great work in practice. Obviously, no one is hitting him, but he’s getting great pocket work and he’s had great chemistry with the guys who have been out there. I don’t have any issues where he’s at… We want a clean operation, efficient. We want to see success, but we’re not going [to] overreact to how things go. We just want those guys to check that box of being out there in a game together.”
While Taylor has repeatedly said that his starters won’t play a ton of snaps, he did mention that one impressive, young star in the making may receive increased playing time.
Will Amarius Mims Impress?
“He’s up for debate in that conversation [to play more snaps],” Taylor said. “He’s going to get a lot of work obviously this preseason in joint practices and all those things. He’s up for that conversation to play a little bit longer.” While Trent Brown is the assumed Week 1 starter because of veteran reliability, Mims is certainly a candidate to take the job on raw ability alone.
Mims was considered one of the most polarizing prospects in this past NFL Draft. He had every measurable an offensive line coach could dream of and his production at Georgia was quite impressive. However, some feared his lacks of experience makes him too raw to immediately succeed at the NFL level. The obvious step to getting Mims acclimated to the league is to give him on-the-job training in the preseason and to have him learn from Orlando Brown and Trent Brown. It will be up to the veterans, coach Frank Pollack, and Mims himself to unlock his full potential. So far, he’s impressed the veterans.
“He asks a lot of questions,” Brown said back in May. “Technique, fundamentals. How the league is so he’s preparing on the field, off the field. He’s self-aware. He’s got the right mindset in thinking we’ll have to count on him at some point this season.”
Which Wild Receiver Will Step Up?
Bengals fans are currently holding their breath and waiting on news regarding Charlie Jones, who was carted off the field due to a knee injury. Despite the injury scare, the Bengals may have caught a break and avoided a serious injury.
“Sounded like he hit knees with somebody … I think it’s gonna be fine.”
– Andrei Iosivas on Charlie Jones’ injury at Thursday’s practice pic.twitter.com/bvJuS02lQ0
— Caleb Noe (@CalebNoeTV) August 8, 2024
A timetable for Jones’ health and return has yet to be disclosed.
The speedy wideout and kick returner will miss at least some time, giving another young receiver the opportunity to step up. Those candidates include last season’s practice squad members Kwamie Lassiter II, Kendric Pryor, Hakeem Butler, and 2024 UDFA Cole Burgess.
Butler and Burgess in particular lit up stat sheets in the previous seasons they’ve played with their respective teams. Butler won the UFL’s 2024 Offensive Player of the Year award, earning 652 yards in his most recent season and getting five touchdowns with the St. Louis Battlehawks. Burgess attended Division III school SUNY Cortland, a college none of you have heard of until just now, and led the Empire 8 conference in receptions (87), receiving yards (1375), and receiving TDs (16).
Jones’ expected absence also opens up a hole in special teams. Cole Burgess has experience with exactly that in his college days, particularly as a kick returner. In 66 kickoff returns at Cortland, he has 1,647 return yards and returned three kickoffs to the house. It’ll be interesting to see who among that group distinguishes themselves.
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