Category: Latest News

Bengals not initially listed as attending Colin Kaepernick workout run by Hue Jackson

The Bengals aren’t currently listed as attending the Colin Kaepernick workout with Hue Jackson.

The Cincinnati Bengals were reportedly set to evaluate Colin Kaepernick at his workout Saturday.

But the rumblings were always vague enough to leave some wiggle room — it didn’t mean the front office was going to physically send someone to the workout.

On Thursday, the NFL provided a list of 11 teams that have committed to sending someone to view the workout — the Bengals aren’t among those.

Some of the usual suspects (like the New England Patriots) are on there. But it was made clear all 32 teams would get tape from the workout and interview, so the Bengals might choose to simply lean on that, barring a change in the coming days.

Interestingly, former Bengals coach Hue Jackson has been announced as running the workout.

“The NFL asked me to do it. I’m excited about doing it for Colin and the league. As far as I know right now, Colin is still attending,” Jackson said, according to ESPN.

A report has said the Bengals aren’t likely to sign Kaepernick, but if nothing comes of it, the development has made for some interesting conversation in the wake of a new coaching staff benching Andy Dalton.

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Ravens vs. Texans injury report: DT Michael Pierce missed Thursday’s practice

The Baltimore Ravens are pretty healthy for Week 11 against the Houston Texans but are still seeing defensive tackle Michael Pierce out.

The Baltimore Ravens enter Week 11 fairly healthy. After getting their Week 9 bye, Baltimore has managed to see the return of some previously injured players as they look to make a strong second-half run.

While the Ravens had three players miss practice entirely on Thursday, most of the injuries don’t seem to be terribly concerning. Rookie wide receiver Marquise Brown has been a frequent addition to the injury report each week but has played in all but two games this season. Defensive tackle Brandon Williams was held out for non-injury reasons. That leaves just defensive tackle Michael Pierce, who was considered day-to-day this week with an ankle injury.

Take a look at the full injury report below.

Baltimore Ravens injuries:

WR Marquise Brown (ankle) – DNP
DT Michael Pierce (ankle) – DNP
DT Brandon Williams (NIR) – DNP

WR Chris Moore (thumb) – LP

CB Brandon Carr (NIR) – FP
RB Mark Ingram (NIR) – FP
CB Jimmy Smith (NIR) – FP
Earl Thomas (NIR/knee) – FP

Houston Texans injuries:

LB Dylan Cole (Knee) – LP
WR Will Fuller V (Hamstring) – LP
S Tashaun Gipson Sr. (Back/wrist) – LP
G/T Tytus Howard (Knee) – LP
CB Bradley Roby (Hamstring) – LP
T Laremy Tunsil (Shoulder) – LP

Titans RB Derrick Henry is FedEx Ground’s NFL Player of the Week

This is the first time Henry has received the award this season, and he is the only Titan to be nominated so far this year.

Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry is a key component of the offense, and has made that evident in his latest performances for the team.

Henry was named the FedEx Ground NFL Player of the Week, following last week’s 35-32 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.

On the victory, he rushed for 188 yards on 23 attempts, with an average of 8.2 yards per carry. He also accounted for two Tennessee touchdowns on Sunday.

This was Henry’s second 100-yard rushing game of 2019 and his sixth career 100-yard rushing game in the regular season.

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The performance also accounted for the former Alabama standout’s second consecutive 100-yard game against the Kansas City, with the first being a 2017 playoff game.

This is the first time Henry has received the award this season, and he is the only Titan to be nominated so far this year.

FedEx will also donate $2,000 to The USO in Henry’s name.

On the season, Henry has racked up a total of 187 carries for 832 yards and eight touchdowns. He averages 4.4 yards per carry.

The Baltimore Ravens’ Lamar Jackson was awarded the FedEx Air NFL Player of the Week on the same week for his 223 yards, 3 passing touchdowns, 0 interceptions and perfect 158.3 passer rating in the team’s 49-13 win over the Cincinnati Bengals.

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Henry and the Titans will look to add another big win when they face the division rival Jacksonville Jaguars on Nov. 24 at 3:05 p.m. CT in Nissan Stadium.

C Ben Jones is Titans’ Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award nominee

Here’s a complete look at the list of pat winners and 2019 nominees.

Tennessee Titans center Ben Jones is known for his role within the offensive line for the team, but it goes beyond that.

Jones has also shown great sportsmanship is his time in Nashville, and is the team’s nominee for the Art Rooney Sportsmanship Award.

The Rooney Award is presented by the NFL each year to the athlete that shows exceptional sportsmanship on the field.

Here’s a complete look at the list of pat winners and 2019 nominees.

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PAST RECIPIENTS

2018: QB Drew Brees, New Orleans Saints
2017: LB Luke Kuechly, Carolina Panthers
2016: RB Frank Gore, Indianapolis Colts
2015: CB Charles Woodson, Oakland Raiders
2014: WR Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals

2019 ART ROONEY SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD NOMINEES

Arizona Cardinals: C A.Q. Shipley
Atlanta Falcons: WR Julio Jones
Baltimore Ravens: QB Lamar Jackson
Buffalo Bills: LB Lorenzo Alexander
Carolina Panthers: RB Christian McCaffrey
Chicago Bears: DB Kyle Fuller
Cincinnati Bengals: DE Sam Hubbard
Cleveland Browns: RB Nick Chubb
Dallas Cowboys: CB Byron Jones
Denver Broncos: LB Von Miller
Detroit Lions: QB Matthew Stafford
Green Bay Packers: CB Tramon Williams
Houston Texans: QB Deshaun Watson
Indianapolis Colts: WR T.Y. Hilton
Jacksonville Jaguars: DL Calais Campbell
Kansas City Chiefs: QB Patrick Mahomes
Los Angeles Chargers: LB Thomas Davis Sr.
Los Angeles Rams: S Eric Weddle
Miami Dolphins: C Daniel Kilgore
Minnesota Vikings: DE Danielle Hunter
New England Patriots: WR Matthew Slater
New Orleans Saints: T Terron Armstead
New York Giants: DL Dalvin Tomlinson
New York Jets: DL Steve McLendon
Oakland Raiders: QB Derek Carr
Philadelphia Eagles: QB Carson Wentz
Pittsburgh Steelers: RB James Conner
San Francisco 49ers: T Joe Staley
Seattle Seahawks: LB K.J. Wright
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: LB Lavonte David
Tennessee Titans: C Ben Jones
Washington Redskins: RB Adrian Peterson

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The eight finalists will be announced on Dec. 13, with the winner to be named on Feb. 1.

Geno Atkins surfaces on new injury report with knee issue

Geno Atkins joins A.J. Green and others on the injury report.

The injury bug isn’t loosening its grip on the Cincinnati Bengals.

Thursday, defensive tackle Geno Atkins joined the injury report with a knee injury. Alongside Tyler Eifert, it isn’t uncommon to see a veteran like Atkins get a rest day during the middle of the week.

But Thursday, Atkins was labeled as a knee injury in the “did not practice” column alongside A.J. Green, Dre Kirkpatrick, Alex Redmond and Drew Sample.

Sample’s injury is a new one that could spur a trip to injured reserve. As for Green, he’s back to the rehab process and won’t play this week.

Then there is Atkins, whose status for the game in Oakland is now a question mark, to top it all off. Thursday is usually the telling day as far as forecasting the weekend goes, but Friday’s practice this week still has plenty of room for changes.

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Winless Bengals are double-digit underdogs for roadtrip vs. Raiders

The odds once again have the Bengals as big underdogs.

Oddsmakers don’t exactly think the Cincinnati Bengals will pick up their first win of the season on the road in Week 11 against the Oakland Raiders.

Fresh off a 49-13 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, the Bengals hit the road as 10.5-point underdogs against those Raiders, according to BetMGM.

No great surprise here. Lamar Jackson might be an MVP candidate, but the Ravens quarterback running wild on the Bengals was merely the latest disaster for the lost unit — after a bye week, no less.

The Bengals defense, or those in charge of adding to it, haven’t made much of an effort to correct the issue. The team cut Preston Brown, but he hasn’t seen significant time lately anyway.

And on the offensive side, Ryan Finley was responsible for 14 Ravens points in his debut and his rookie struggles don’t figure to simply vanish.

As for those Raiders, they’re winners of two in a row and at 5-4 have done a better job of escaping the plethora of offseason noise than some might have expected. Derek Carr has completed better than 70 percent of his passes and the ground game averages 4.7 yards per carry, so the Raiders figure to have a big advantage at home over the Bengals defense.

This was a theme last week when looking at the odds — the Bengals used to be a savvy underdog play, if nothing else. But until something changes, that isn’t the case here.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Could the Titans take interest in QB Colin Kaepernick?

USA TODAY’s Nate Davis ranked the Titans’ potential interest in him at No. 6 overall among all NFL teams — ahead of the Oakland Raiders and behind the New Orleans Saints.

Former NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick hasn’t given up on football yet.

The league has put together a workout for the 32-year-old in Atlanta on Saturday, and all 32 teams are invited to attend.

USA TODAY’s Nate Davis ranked the Titans’ potential interest in him at No. 6 overall among all NFL teams — ahead of the Oakland Raiders and behind the New Orleans Saints.

“What’s the plan for 2020? Who knows? What we do know is that neither Marcus Mariota nor Ryan Tannehill is under contract,” Davis wrote. “We also know that the Titans appear unlikely to land on a top-10 draft pick.”

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Davis does make a solid point here.

Tannehill has been efficient, completing 97-of-136 passes for 1,161 yards with eight touchdowns and four interceptions since taking over in the third quarter of Week 6’s shutout loss to the Denver Broncos.

But neither Mariota nor Tannehill is guarunteed a spot on the roster next year, and it seems more reasonable to believe that both of them will be gone than that either of them will secure a significant extension after this season.

A lot remains up in the air, especially with such a strong 2020 NFL Draft class at the quarterback position.

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Names like Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, Jordan Love and Justin Herbert will be on the radar of many NFL teams and would probably provide a better option in the long-term for the Titans.

It will be interesting to see what the team does moving forward, but bringing on Kaepernick just doesn’t seem to be in their best interest.

Drew Sample injury is the latest hit to Bengals’ 2019 draft class

An injury to Drew Sample is another hit to the 2019 Bengals draft class.

When it comes to the 2019 NFL draft class, the Cincinnati Bengals just can’t win.

That matches the results in the win-loss column, at least. The latest setback for the unlucky class arrived over the weekend in the form of an injury to second-round pick Drew Sample.

The team says it’s an ankle sprain and his immediate availability is in doubt. Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, though, reported Sample could end up on injured reserve.

In other words, right as the Bengals switch to long-term evaluation mode with Ryan Finley under center, Sample goes down and could miss the rest of the season.

Sample was a controversial pick with such a high-value slotting, which is only magnified more due to the issues along the offensive line and at linebacker. He was hardly employed in Zac Taylor’s offense before the injury too, playing just 109 snaps (17.58 percent).

Sample is hardly the first problem for the rookie class. The Bengals started the season without first-round tackle Jonah Williams, who suffered an injury over the summer and might not make it back at all this year.

Third-round linebacker Germaine Pratt has mightily struggled when on the field. Of the three fourth-round picks, Renell Wren isn’t playing often. Michael Jordan lost his starting job and Finley, barring a dramatic change, was drafted largely to be a backup.

A rough start for this draft class wouldn’t seem so bad if the last few classes haven’t struggled so much. But with the Sample injury, it’s yet another Bengals rookie missing out on critical developmental snaps at the best time for them.

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Report: Chances Bengals sign Colin Kaepernick ‘slim to none’

It sounds like the Bengals are just doing due diligence on Colin Kaepernick.

Wednesday, word broke the Cincinnati Bengals will evaluate the upcoming workout for Colin Kaepernick.

But barring something unexpected, it sounded like the Bengals were doing typical due diligence.

According to Tyler Dragon of the Cincinnati Enquirer, the odds the Bengals actually sign Kaepernick are “slim to none” largely because of the team’s long-term plan at the position:

Bengals representatives have told The Enquirer that the team is building for the future and wants to evaluate rookie quarterback Ryan Finley for the remainder of the season. If the team is unsatisfied with Finley, the Bengals plan to draft a quarterback early in the 2020 NFL Draft. Sources abreast of the situation say adding a veteran quarterback at this particular time runs contrary to their vision of the future.

Granted, this is the NFL and things can change in a matter of moments. But with Kaepernick already 32 years old and his lengthy absence from the game, it makes sense the Bengals are taking a look but aren’t expected to make a move.

Sheerly from a football perspective, the Bengals don’t have a reason to add a fourth quarterback this season. Andy Dalton is presumably gone via trade or otherwise this offseason, but he’s more than a viable fallback plan were something to happen with rookie Ryan Finley over the remainder of the season.

This new Bengals coaching staff traded up to get Finley in the mid rounds this year and he was one of two quarterbacks to take official visits to Paul Brown Stadium before the draft. The other, Jake Dolegala, is also on the roster.

Pair those two with what should be a top-five quarterback prospect and there isn’t much room unless Kaepernick stuns the NFL on Saturday.

Regardless, it’s still interesting to hear the name even come up and the staff has otherwise ducked questions about it:

Kaepernick’s workout is Saturday.

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John Ross is first of two names to return from IR for Bengals after clearance

The Bengals WR is on his way back from IR.

As expected, John Ross is cleared to return to Cincinnati Bengals practice and will fill one of the two slots allotted for players returning from injured reserve.

It’s an exciting development for Ross, who flashed plenty of big upside under a new coaching staff on his way to 328 yards and three touchdowns over four games.

Call it a big boon for rookie quarterback Ryan Finley too, as he’ll soon get a big-play weapon back on the field to provide offensive spacing as he tries to convince the front office he’s the long-term answer.

Perhaps more interesting is what this means for injured reserve. The final designated to return spot figures to go to either cornerback Darius Phillips or first-round tackle Jonah Williams.

As for Ross, he’s eligible to play December 8 at Cleveland.

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