Cincinnati Bengals News & Rumors

Bengals CB Cam Taylor-Britt Undergoes Surgery

The Bengals retained their secondary starters from their AFC championship season but added pieces with both their first- and second-round picks. The second of those choices will miss some time.

Cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt underwent core surgery Monday, Zac Taylor said (via ESPN.com’s Ben Baby, on Twitter). The second-rounder has been out for more than a week and will miss at least the rest of the team’s preseason practices.

This essentially locks Eli Apple into a starting job, Jay Morrison of The Athletic notes (subscription required). Taylor-Britt making a later bid at taking over with Cincinnati’s first-stringers cannot be ruled out, but to begin the season, it will be Apple back as a full-timer alongside Chidobe Awuzie and Mike Hilton.

Apple re-signed with the Bengals on a one-year deal worth $3.5MM, though that pact came with only $1MM guaranteed at signing. Pro Football Focus rated the former top-10 pick as a midlevel corner during the regular season, one that saw him keep Trae Waynes out of the team’s defensive picture for the stretch run. The Bengals cut Waynes this offseason. Although the Rams picked on Apple at key points during Super Bowl LVI, he started 15 games to bounce back after a lost 2020 season — a two-game Panthers slate.

Cincinnati drafted safety Daxton Hill in the first round; the Michigan product is seeing more time due to Jessie Bates‘ absence. The Bengals should be expected to have their franchise-tagged safety, whom they are unlikely to trade, back by Week 1. The team traded up three spots for Taylor-Britt in Round 2, moving to No. 60 for the Nebraska defender. With Apple’s deal expiring after the 2022 season, it would seem there is a clear path for the Big Ten product to move into the Bengals’ starting lineup long-term. That ascent is on hold for the time being.

Latest On Bengals QB Joe Burrow

Joe Burrow returned to Bengals practice this week after undergoing an appendectomy in late July. While initial reports seemed to indicate that Burrow underwent a standard procedure, that didn’t end up being the case. As ESPN’s Ben Baby writes, the quarterback lost weight thanks to the surgery and subsequent recovery, and it sounds like he’s got some work to do to get into game shape for Week 1.

“It wasn’t normal appendicitis that you hear about,” Burrow explained. “I didn’t really feel much. Just getting checked out and had some discomfort so we thought we’d get it checked out. Turns out I had it. So we had to get it fixed.”

It’s an encouraging sign that Burrow has returned to practice, and the Bengals have a plan in place to get him right for the start of the regular season. This includes a plan to add weight and get the QB’s body back “to its pre-surgery form.” Burrow isn’t expected to see the field for Cincinnati’s remaining preseason contests.

“I think it will be OK,” Burrow said. “We have a good plan as far as nutrition and weight room and all that stuff. I feel good right now and just going to keep feeling better.”

Burrow isn’t the only key Bengals player to return to practice. Wideout Tee Higgins participated in team drills for the first time on Sunday, per Baby. The receiver had his labrum worked on this offseason, but it sounds like he’ll be good to go for the start of the regular season.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/17/22

After yesterday’s deadline dump, there are plenty of new names available to be plucked out of free agency. Here’s today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Waived: LB Jesse Lemonier

Atlanta Falcons

  • Signed: WR KeeSean Johnson
  • Waived: WR Tyshaun James
  • Waived (injury settlement): DL Bryce Rodgers

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Dallas Cowboys

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

  • Placed on IR: OT Jonathan Hubbard

Tennessee Titans

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/15/22

Today’s minor moves:

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

  • Waived: DE Carson Taylor

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

 Dallas Cowboys

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions 

Green Bay Packers 

Houston Texans

Indianapolis Colts 

Jacksonville Jaguars 

Los Angeles Chargers

Miami Dolphins 

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Washington Commanders

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/14/22

We will keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Cincinnati Bengals

Green Bay Packers

New England Patriots

  • Signed: CB Devin Hafford

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

The most notable name amongst the Cardinals’ cuts is Keke. The 25-year-old made 17 starts with the Packers over the past two seasons, and was claimed off waivers by the Texans in February. Houston cut him in May, however, leading him to the Cardinals. In the waning months of the offseason, the 2019 fifth-rounder will need to find another NFL home in time for Week 1.

Another recent Packers draftee being let go is Martin. The 2020 fifth-rounder made six appearances last season with Carolina, playing all-but exclusively on special teams. Each of the team’s other roster cuts had yet to play in for the Panthers, including Westry, who had showed potential in 2021 when briefly starting for the Ravens.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/13/22

Today’s minor moves around the league:

Baltimore Ravens

Cincinnati Bengals

Tennessee Titans

Bengals DE Wyatt Hubert Announces Retirement

One of the members of Cincinnati’s extremely successful 10-man 2021 rookie class has unfortunately decided to walk away from football. In a tweet this afternoon, Bengals defensive end Wyatt Hubert cited his physical health as the root cause of his retirement. 

“Unfortunately I have dealt with many injuries that have taken a permanent toll on my game, body, and performance on the field,” Hubert elaborated. “This decision has been difficult and humbling as I have been blessed to have made it to the NFL and be drafted by a great organization in the Cincinnati Bengals.”

Hubert never made it to the field at the NFL-level. In college, Hubert was a key contributor at Kansas State, starting about 2.5 of the 4 seasons he spent in Manhattan. After redshirting his first year, Hubert started seven of twelve games as a redshirt freshman ranking third in the nation among freshman in sacks per game. He started every remaining college game of his career after that, earning first team All Big 12 honors after leading the Wildcats in tackles for loss (12.5) and sacks (7.0) as a redshirt sophomore.

Despite playing in two fewer games as a redshirt junior, Hubert increased his career highs with 13.0 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks, good enough to earn him a second-consecutive year on the All Big 12 first team. As the only unanimous first team All Big 12 selection on defense, Hubert also earned votes as the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and the Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year.

His two-year run of success led him to forgo his final year of college eligibility and declare for the 2021 NFL Draft. Hubert was selected by Cincinnati in the seventh-round, but suffered a torn pectoral muscle before the season began, landing him on the reserve/non-football injury list.

A year later, it seems injuries like that have taken their toll on the 24-year-old, influencing him to change his career path before it harms him beyond repair. While the Bengals never got the privilege of seeing his contributions on the field, those who watched him rock the royal purple in college, know what a loss Cincinnati’s defense has suffered.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/10/22

Today’s minor moves:

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Green Bay Packers

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Signed: RB DeAndre Torrey

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/7/22

We will keep track of today’s minor moves right here:

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Green Bay Packers

Jacksonville Jaguars

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Washington Commanders

Saffold landed on the NFI list after injuring his ribs in a car accident. Getting their starting left guard back sooner rather than later is an important development for the Bills.

Colburn will take the place of Cottrell in the Jags’ RB room. The Wake Forest product played in four games for the USFL’s Philadelphia Stars this year, garnering 102 rushes for 457 yards (just under 4.5 YPC) and eight scores.

Cottrell has seen action in each of the past two years for Jacksonville, returning seven kicks in 2020 and handling one carry in 2021.

Wolf and Parker get preseason roster positions after successful workouts yesterday. The Commanders are looking for depth at both positions as they work towards a 53-man roster.

Drew Sample Suffers Knee Injury

  • With C.J. Uzomah out of the picture, Drew Sample‘s Bengals role figures to expand a bit. But the defending AFC champions will be without Sample for a bit. Sample suffered a knee injury recently, and although Zac Taylor said the fourth-year pass catcher will likely be out multiple weeks, ESPN.com’s Ben Baby tweets. Sample may be dealing with an MCL sprain, per NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter). The Bengals have Sample, a former second-round pick in a contract year, and signed former first-rounder Hayden Hurst to replace Uzomah.