There might be a proverbial light at the end of the tunnel for the Cincinnati Bengals and the NFL as a whole soon.
And a Bengals team with a second-year coaching staff and a roster it blew up this offseason could really use the in-person work.
So Tuesday provided a bit of good news via a report from Yahoo’s Charles Robinson, which states June minicamps could get the go-ahead depending on certain factors:
“The sources told Yahoo Sports that if coaches resume their in-house work next week, minicamps including players could be scheduled as early as June 15 or as late as June 27, depending on COVID-19 data and whether a handful of franchises get a “go ahead” signal from state governments to resume full operations.”
A June 27 minicamp would fall later than usual and potentially push actual training camp in July back, potentially spurring an unknown domino effect of delays.
But that’s getting ahead of things.
Like the rest of the NFL, Bengals personnel and players have been stuck prepping for the season in an all-virtual format. And while newfound leaders like Josh Bynes have assumed mentor roles, nothing beats in-person training and reps.
No matter how many feel-good quotes come out from guys who are supposed to be at Paul Brown Stadium right not, nothing will actually be better for all involved than getting to work at Paul Brown Stadium. Cincinnati has a rookie quarterback to break in, essentially a rookie left tackle and a completely revamped defense with new key free agents at all three levels and a linebacker with three or more rookies who could end up making the final roster.
So while getting back to normalcy when it comes to offseason prep is important for all teams, it’s perhaps moreso for a Bengals team that just blew up its roster after a two-win season.
[vertical-gallery id=33011]