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Today seems like a very important practice day. If Burrow is going to start on opening day in less than 2 weeks, doesn't he need to be on the practice field today in some limited capacity? He returned to practice last year on August 16th, I think. So he's already running way behind that timeline.

Carman struggles in pass protection, but he's the best drive blocker among the backups. I expect he will be the 6th linemen in short yardage formations.

It is stunning (and a little scary) how much younger this year's opening day roster figures to be compared to last year. Team will save money at almost all of these roster spots with mostly rookies, but will also lose a ton of experience. Here is a comparison of some of last year's veterans (their years in the league will be in parentheses) and this year's roster replacements: Allen(3) - Browning Perine(5) - CBrown TTaylor(5) - CJones Thomas(6) - Iosivas Apple(6) - DJTurner Flowers(4) - Ivey Bell(8) - NScott Bates((5) - DHill MThomas(9) - TAnderson Huber(13) - Robbins Harris(14) - Adomitis

With the heat index supposed to be around 95 degrees at kickoff and the Bengals being very thin for this game at a few positions, things could get very ugly in the second half. Mixon won't play, Evans and Williams out with injuries, Chase Brown will get so much action he will think he's still at Illinois. I'm guessing the 2 UDFA RBs will get plenty of action in the second half. CB is another position where a few guys will have to cover almost all of the snaps. Allan George, Ivey and Davis might be all they have available to cover all 3 CB positions. Safety Mike Thomas might have to take some snaps at CB like he did in the last practice or two. Behind those guys...there is no one available. Even Marvin Tell, the UDFA rookie CB, has a concussion and is out. Have to hope no one else gets hurt in the CB room.

I've go to believe the 49ers might be one of the teams that will carry all 3 QBs to take advantage of the new gameday active rules. Because of what happened to them in the NFCCG, San Fran is the team that caused the new rule to be enacted in the first place.

The praise certainly isn't based on the first series of last week's exhibition game against Atlanta's first string. It is based on practice every day against Cincinnati's first team. Burrow will get hit often and sacked some, that's especially when he tries to make a play deep down the field. I'm hoping that all of the RPO/PA stuff they have added to the offense will give defensive coaches and players more to think about though.

I believe one of Morgan and Thomas make it, but not both. Thomas is the oldest player on the team by at least a couple of years and may make it to the practice squad. Probably Morgan would get picked up by another team so maybe he makes it onto the 53 man roster. Special teams are still important, but slightly less so with the way kickoff returns is being phased out of the NFL.

Winning the regular season is what makes it much easier to win in the postseason. Ask the Kansas City Chiefs who always gets first round byes and play their playoff games at Arrowhead. It helps that they play in a crappy division. Strong regular season records were huge factors in New England's string of Super Bowl rings.

Maybe they will have the cap space if they are unable to sign Higgins. But I'm still hoping they can extend Higgins.

Orlando Brown declares Jonah Williams to be the MVP of this year's training camp: "I know we've been hearing so many different things about MVPs of training camp, but that's my MVP of training camp," Brown said during an exclusive interview with Cincinnati Bengals Talk. "What Jonah's been able to do, it's not easy switching sides. It's not easy. It's one of the hardest things to do. The guy's a natural right tackle in some ways and he's been able to go out there and really perform at a high level, been able to be consistent every single day. Him and Sam (Hubbard) just grinding."

Paul Dehner could be wrong here, but he usually has good sources and he acts like the 3rd down role has already been settled.

Williams may have been RB2 coming into training camp, but he has had no chance to show what he can do because of injuries. Did he have such a lock on being Mixon's backup that he didn't have to show the coaches anything? I would be shocked if that turns out to be the case.

Jones only lasted to the 4th round because of his small size and his advanced age. I think Jones would be picked up right away if he got waived. If the Bengals aren't advising him to get surgery on his torn shoulder labrum, then he seems like a lock to make the team. If he went ahead and had surgery now, the Bengals could put him on IR and keep Taylor to return punts. But I cannot imagine any scenario where Charlie Jones just gets waived.

Losing Burrow on the second day of training camp seemed to knock the wind out of everyone's sails. Hoping he will return to practice next Monday, the first practice after the last exhibition game. Just don't think he would have time to get ready for Cleveland if he doesn't return to practice by then.

- DL is the deepest position on the team. I don't see how you can only 9 in light of that, especially since it is the most rotational position on the team. - DB is the 2nd deepest position on the team. Bengals seem to think Jalen Davis could start at slot CB for a lot of teams. I think he's safe. I expect at least 26 players on the 53 man roster on opening day.

The injury to Williams came at a very bad time for him, but I don't think he is in danger of being waived. Callahan had him as the favorite to win the 3rd down role just prior to the draft. They consider Williams very dependable in pass pro. When this training camp first began, I was almost certain they would only carry 3 RBs, with Evans being the one most in danger. So I'm back to thinking 4 backs again.

The best division in football although the AFC North is brutal too. It will be a close race in the AFC East. Buffalo is very talented but they have some problems too.

That's true. But they are desperately trying to change that. Speculation is that they are clearing room to make a big push for Chris Jones in a trade.

Cleveland is always manipulating the salary cap. They shell out top dollar for so many players at non-premium positions like IOL/TE in addition to paying franchise QB money to Watson. Yet they always seem to have plenty of room for more. Maybe it catches up with them eventually.

Paul Dehner, who always seems to have good sources on the offensive side, believes that the 3rd down back role has already been determined. Cincinnati Bengals: Chris Evans seized the Samaje Perine role The Bengals pass as much as any team in football, and as Perine proved last year, his spot can be valuable in this offense. Evans enjoyed a fantastic camp and made a compelling case for himself to be the passing-down back when the season starts. He has great hands and can be a real weapon for Joe Burrow out of the backfield, but solidifying his pass protection and downhill running is what won him the gig. — Paul Dehner Jr.

That story has been around for a few days. Now engaged to his longtime girlfriend. Seems like an interesting time to get engaged after such a long courtship, at the start of a long football season. Could be about to sign a HUGE contract any day now to stay in Cincinnati for a long time. Hard to believe those two events are unrelated.

Thanks for all of the feedback. I have Verizon Fios in a WiFi/cable bundle. I will probably give YouTube TV with NFL Sunday Ticket. My only issue will be what to do about WiFi service - keep high speed Fios at a higher non-bundled price or try a different company.

With the Bengals being such a pass-first offense, I don't know why Higgins would mind being The Other Guy. He would still a ton of targets from a franchise QB, all while drawing fewer double coverage snaps than the Guy. Seems like a win-win to me.

What makes this situation is that Siemian/Browning have got the kind of training camp reps that most backup QBs only dream about. They have taken all of the snaps that would've gone to Burrow, and seemingly done very little with them. There are few signs of much improvement as the regular season draws closer.

Exception to the rule., but I didn't say 6th round or later...I just said 6th rounder. Hopefully Iosivas can become an excellent WR4 next year and beyond. The potential is there. Since they didn't trade him before the draft when the return value was at its highest, the Bengals need to sign Higgins to an extension.