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Mitchell Tinsley Mitchell Tinsley Shines in preseason win
Tue, Aug 19, 2025, 2:07 AM
Tinsley had two catches for 73 yards and two touchdowns in Monday night's preseason win over the Commanders. He has made an impression in camp prior to Monday night's game as well, being named one of the team captains for the contest, Charlie's Chalkboard reports.
Analysis: For all of Tinsley's developments and heroics Monday night, he still faces an uphill battle to make the Bengals' 53-man roster. He would need the Bengals to keep six receivers in addition to the top five of Ja'Marr Chase, Tee Higgins, Andrei Iosivas, Jermaine Burton and Charlie Jones. It's more likely that Tinsley will be a practice squad player for the Bengals in the event of an injury, or maybe he'll put up some good reps on tape for other teams scouting the Bengals while looking for a depth piece. |
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Noah Fant Noah Fant Not targeted in preseason win
Mon, Aug 18, 2025, 11:17 PM
Fant didn't get any targets in Monday's preseason win over Washington.
Analysis: Fant was part of a TE rotation for the first-string offense, mostly playing alongside Drew Sample in two-TE sets, while Tanner Hudson filled in for Mike Gesicki (hamstring) and got a lot of the work in passing situations with three wide receivers. None of the bunch is likely to have an every-down role in the regular season, nor anything close to it. |
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Tahj Brooks Tahj Brooks Takes 14 touches for 56 yards
Mon, Aug 18, 2025, 10:49 PM
Brooks took 11 carries for 47 yards and caught three of four targets for nine yards in a 31-17 preseason win at Washington on Monday.
Analysis: The rookie sixth-round pick had 10 carries for 26 yards and one catch for three yards in the preseason opener, coming in after Chase Brown and Samaje Perine. It was a similar story Monday, with Brown taking five carries on the first drive and then calling it a night. Brooks first entered midway through the first quarter and ended up playing well into the third quarter before handing things over to Kendall Milton. Brooks appears on track for a Week 1 roster spot, and while he may not initially have a role in the gameplan, he'll be needed if Brown misses time. |
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Ja'Marr Chase Ja'Marr Chase Plays one drive
Mon, Aug 18, 2025, 10:43 PM
Chase caught his lone target for 11 yards in Monday's preseason win at Washington.
Analysis: Chase played just one drive Monday night, after catching four passes for 71 yards and a TD on two series in Cincinnati's preseason opener. He'll likely be held out of the final preseason game, ahead of a Week 1 contest at Cleveland against a defense led by DE Myles Garrett and CB Denzel Ward. Chase caught 11 of 14 targets for 152 yards and two TDs in his two matchups with Cleveland last season, after having just one big game against the Browns through his first three years in the league. |
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Joe Burrow Joe Burrow Leads two TD drives
Mon, Aug 18, 2025, 10:38 PM
Burrow completed nine of 14 passes for 62 yards and a touchdown in Monday's 31-17 preseason win over Washington, leading the Bengals to 14 points on three drives.
Analysis: Burrow curiously continued playing (and took a couple of extra hits) after Ja'Marr Chase, Chase Brown and other starters had been removed. The Bengals have scored touchdowns on four of Burrow's five drives this preseason, looking ready for a Week 1 AFC North clash at Cleveland. |
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Chase Brown Chase Brown Scores TD on fourth down
Mon, Aug 18, 2025, 8:26 PM
Brown took five touches for 16 yards and a touchdown in Monday's preseason game against Cincinnati.
Analysis: Brown played the opening drive and accounted for all five of Cincinnati's RB touches on the series, after getting all eight touches across two drives in the previous preseason game. His final carry was a one-yard TD plunge on fourth down, with Samaje Perine then taking over on the next drive. Perine may have a role on clear passing situations, but it looks like Brown will open the regular season handling most of Cincinnati's backfield snaps and a huge share of the carries. If it doesn't work out, the Bengals have Perine and rookie sixth-round pick Tahj Brooks as favorites for the second and third spots on the depth chart. They'll open the regular season with a road game against the Browns at 1:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 7. |
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Jermaine Burton Jermaine Burton Won't suit up vs. Washington
Sat, Aug 16, 2025, 10:17 AM
Bengals coach Zac Taylor said Saturday that Burton (undisclosed) is ruled out for Monday's preseason game against the Commanders, Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic reports.
Analysis: Burton has missed practice reps since last Sunday due to an undisclosed injury, and he was limited to rehab work in his return to practice Friday. The second-year pro seems to be progressing well in his recovery, at least, so he could be back in action in time for Cincinnati's preseason finale against the Colts on Saturday, Aug. 23. A 2024 third-pick, Burton is coming off a disappointing rookie campaign in which he corralled just four of 14 targets for 104 yards across 14 regular-season appearances, and at this stage he seems to have fallen behind Andrei Iosivas in the competition for the No. 3 receiver gig behind Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins. |
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Noah Fant Noah Fant Preseason debut on top
Sat, Aug 16, 2025, 9:30 AM
Fant will make his preseason debut with the Bengals during Monday's game against the Commanders, Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic reports.
Analysis: Fant inked with Cincinnati on July 31 and hadn't picked up enough of the playbook to suit up for the team's preseason opener against Philadelphia on Aug. 5, but he's now acclimated enough to take on exhibition reps. With Mike Gesicki (hamstring) ruled out for Monday's matchup, Fant could get the start at tight end while all of Drew Sample, Tanner Hudson, Tanner McLachlan and Cam Grandy work in behind him. |
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Mike Gesicki Mike Gesicki Ruled out for second preseason game
Sat, Aug 16, 2025, 9:26 AM
Bengals coach Zac Taylor said Monday that Gesicki (hamstring) is ruled out for Monday's preseason game against the Commanders, Kelsey Conway of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
Analysis: Gesicki continues to miss practice due to a lingering hamstring injury, and he'll now be forced to sit out a second consecutive preseason game. His final chance to log exhibition action will come Saturday, Aug. 23 versus the Colts. With Gesicki out Monday, recent free-agency signee Noah Fant seems set to start at tight end in what will be his 2025 preseason debut. |
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Joe Burrow Joe Burrow In line for 2-3 drives again
Sat, Aug 16, 2025, 9:22 AM
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said Saturday he plans for Burrow and the starters to play a similar amount of snaps during Monday's preseason game against the Commanders as they did during last week's exhibition opener against Philadelphia, Jay Morrison of SI.com reports.
Analysis: Burrow and company played two drives during Cincinnati's preseason opener against the Eagles, both of which the star quarterback punched in, completing nine of 10 pass attempts for 123 yards and two touchdowns. He'll get another chance to log exhibition reps alongside star wideouts Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins on Monday, though with Mike Gesicki (hamstring) still not ready to go, per Kelsey Conway of The Cincinnati Enquirer, recent signee Noah Fant will be in line to start at tight end in his preseason debut. Taylor appears to be following through on his stated intention to allot the Bengals' starters more preseason snaps than ever before, so Burrow could see increased action during the team's preseason finale on Saturday, Aug. 23 against Indianapolis. |
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Jermaine Burton Jermaine Burton Limited to side field
Fri, Aug 15, 2025, 3:38 PM
Burton (undisclosed) worked on a rehab field during Friday's practice, Kelsey Conway of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
Analysis: Cincinnati beat writers spotted Burton at practice for the first time since the Bengals' preseason opener a week ago Thursday, but the wideout didn't actually take part in team drills, instead going to a side field with TE Mike Gesicki (hamstring) and other injured players. While the relatively quick return to physical activity suggests Burton's unspecified injury isn't serious, the missed time could hurt his chances of earning a Week 1 role off the bench. There hasn't been any recent buzz about Burton challenging Andrei Iosivas for the No. 3 receiver role. |
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Jermaine Burton Jermaine Burton Returns to practice
Fri, Aug 15, 2025, 9:20 AM
Burton (undisclosed) returned to practice Friday, Charlie Clifford of NBC 5 Cincinnati reports.
Analysis: It's his first practice since recording one catch, one punt return and two kickoff returns in the preseason opener against the Eagles. A quick return to practice suggests the undisclosed injury isn't serious, but that doesn't mean Burton will play in Monday's preseason game against Washington. It's also not clear if the 2024 third-round pick will have a role in Cincinnati's offense to begin the regular season, as he still seems to be behind Andrei Iosivas (and possibly Charlie Jones) on the depth chart. |
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Mike Gesicki Mike Gesicki Still absent from practice
Wed, Aug 13, 2025, 10:21 AM
Gesicki (hamstring) is present at Wednesday's practice but is rehabbing on a side field, Kelsey Conway of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
Analysis: Gesicki has missed over a week of practice, as well as Cincinnati's preseason opener against the Eagles, due to a hamstring injury sustained during practice on Saturday, Aug. 2. It remains to be seen whether the athletic tight end will be cleared in time to retake the field for Monday's upcoming preseason matchup against the Commanders. Recent tight end arrival Noah Fant also sat out versus Philadelphia, as he wasn't up to speed with the playbook, but he figures to have benefited from increased first-team reps with Gesicki sidelined. |
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Jermaine Burton Jermaine Burton Doesn't practice Sunday
Sun, Aug 10, 2025, 10:49 AM
Burton did not participate in Sunday's training camp practice due to an undisclosed injury, Ben Baby of ESPN.com reports.
Analysis: Burton may have picked up the injury during the Bengals' preseason loss to the Eagles on Thursday. The 2024 third-rounder is considered day-to-day, and his practice participation over the coming week will indicate his chances of playing against the Commanders on Monday, Aug. 18. Burton finished Thursday's contest with one catch (on two targets) for three yards along with 42 yards on two kick returns and 32 yards on his lone punt return. |
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Jermaine Burton Jermaine Burton Minimal impact on offense
Thu, Aug 7, 2025, 9:59 PM
Burton caught one of two targets for three yards, adding two kick returns for 42 yards and one punt return for 32 yards, in Thursday's 34-27 preseason loss to the Eagles.
Analysis: He didn't get any work with Joe Burrow and the first-team offense, instead seeing both of his targets and most of his snaps later in the first half. Burton at least made a good impression with a long punt return, but it's unclear if he has a serious chance to unseat Andrei Iosivas as the No. 3 receiver. In Thursday's game, Charlie Jones also seemed to be ahead of Burton in the WR rotation, taking a few snaps with the starters and catching a pass from Burrow. |
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Tahj Brooks Tahj Brooks Held to 29 total yards
Thu, Aug 7, 2025, 9:17 PM
Brooks took 10 carries for 26 yards and caught one of two targets for three yards in Thursday's preseason loss to the Eagles.
Analysis: Chase Brown played 11 of 15 snaps for the first-team offense, with Samaje Perine taking the other four snaps but not getting any touches. Neither appeared to play at all thereafter, leaving Brooks in a three-down role for much of the game, getting snaps and touches well into the fourth quarter before Gary Brightwell took over at the end. Brooks didn't find much room to run, with his best play of the night arguably being a touchdown-saving tackle after an interception. The rookie sixth-round pick nonetheless has every chance to earn a Week 1 roster spot, as the Bengals don't have much of note in the backfield beyond Brown and Perine. Even the No. 3 RB role might put Brooks an injury away from fantasy value, seeing as Perine has largely been a passing-down specialist in the NFL. |
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Samaje Perine Samaje Perine Takes four snaps with starters
Thu, Aug 7, 2025, 8:57 PM
Perine didn't get any touches but played four of 15 snaps with the first-team offense in Thursday's preseason opener at Philadelphia, Jay Morrison of SI.com reports.
Analysis: Chase Brown played the other 11 first-team snaps and took eight touches for 48 yards. Neither Brooks nor Perine appeared to play after the second drive, with rookie Tahj Brooks taking over and dominating carries into the second half. This seems like a decent preview of what to expect during the regular season -- namely, Perine getting some playing time on pass plays but not seeing much of the ball. The question is whether he or Brooks would have more value in the event of a Brown injury. |
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Andrei Iosivas Andrei Iosivas Runs with starters
Thu, Aug 7, 2025, 7:57 PM
Iosivas wasn't targeted during Thursday's preseason game at Philadelphia, but he played 11 of 15 snaps with the first-team offense, Jay Morrison of SI.com reports.
Analysis: Ja'Marr Chase took all 15 snaps, with Higgins and Iosivas getting 11 apiece and Charlie Jones chipping in for three. Noticeably absent was 2024 third-round pick Jermaine Burton, who is said to be doing much better this summer after making a poor impression last year. In any case, Iosivas picked up where he left off last year, having finished 2024 with 61 targets despite ranking 11th among wideouts in routes run (51). The Bengals could still give Burton, Jones or someone else a shot in the No. 3 WR role at some point. |
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Tee Higgins Tee Higgins Targeted just once
Thu, Aug 7, 2025, 7:50 PM
Higgins saw one incomplete target on two drives in Thursday's preseason opener at Philadelphia.
Analysis: Joe Burrow misfired to an open Higgins on his first pass attempt, before locking in and leading two TD drives with the help of WR Ja'Marr Chase and TE Tanner Hudson. Bengals coach Zac Taylor said he wants to use his starters in the preseason more than he ever has before, which means Higgins may got another tune-up before Week 1. |
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Chase Brown Chase Brown Takes eight touches for 48 yards
Thu, Aug 7, 2025, 7:47 PM
Brown took five carries for 23 yards and three catches for 25 yards in Thursday's preseason game against the Eagles.
Analysis: He was the only RB to get a touch on the first-team offense's two drives, getting the ball eight times on 15 plays, although Samaje Perine did take four snaps, per Jay Morrison of SI.com. It was a reminder of what Brown did last season in Weeks 9-17, recording eight straight games with at least 15 touches, 50 snaps and 91 total yards. The Bengals may ideally want Perine and Tahj Brooks to take some of the load off Brown's shoulders this season, but Brown could still end up dominating the touches if coach Zac Taylor decides there's too much of a drop off between the starter and his backups. |
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