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Who is Trenton Irwin? Cincinnati Bengals WR steps up with Tee Higgins, Charlie Jones out


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Dave Clark, Cincinnati Enquirer
Wed, Oct 11, 2023, 2:28 AM CDT·3 min read
 
 
Trenton Irwin #16 of the Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals were the only NFL team that had two players with at least eight receptions in Week 5.

 

That's one way to silence concerns about depth at receiver, with injured wideouts Tee Higgins and Charlie Jones unavailable.

 

While Ja'Marr Chase's 15-catch game broke a franchise record, Trenton Irwin had eight catches for 60 receiving yards, adding punt returns of 28 and 21 yards for the best single-game contribution of his career.

 

The undrafted former Stanford standout has played parts of five seasons for the Bengals.

 

What to know about Irwin:

Trenton Irwin and Joe Burrow share the same birthday.

 

Irwin is exactly one year older than the Bengals' starting quarterback.

 

Irwin, born December 10, 1995, will turn 28 the same day Burrow will turn 27.

 

Also born on that date? Ted Karras Jr., the head football coach at Marian University who played one NFL game for Washington in 1987. Karras' son, Ted III, is the Bengals' starting center.

 

Trenton Irwin joined the Bengals before Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.

 

After a brief stint with the Miami Dolphins, Irwin was signed to the Bengals' practice squad in October 2019.

 

Irwin has played in 22 regular-season games and three playoff games for Cincinnati, but Sunday's win against the Arizona Cardinals was just his third NFL start.

 

Irwin had just three catches for 39 yards over his first three NFL seasons. He has 24 receptions for 308 yards in 13 regular-season games since Week 8 of last season.

 

Irwin appeared on the 2005 Bravo series 'Sports Kids Moms & Dads' with his father, Craig.

 

A clip from YouTube:

Craig, a character actor who has appeared in many ads and TV shows, was on hand for Trenton's big game in Arizona on Sunday, and Trenton gave his dad his game ball, per Bengals.com's Geoff Hobson.

 

Hobson added that Trenton, who appeared in several ads including one for Velveeta as a kid, told Craig he was done acting when he got benched in high school for missing practice to attend a commercial shoot.

 

At Newhall Hart High School, Trenton set state records with 285 career receptions for 5,268 yards and 57 receiving TDs.

 

Trenton also got a game ball last December against the Patriots.

 

After Tyler Boyd aggravated a finger injury and left the game, Irwin scored two of the Bengals' three touchdowns in a 22-18 road win in Foxborough.

 

Irwin didn't play in the Bengals' first seven games of the 2022 season. He had four TDs in Cincinnati's last nine games of the regular season, and the Bengals' record in those nine games was 8-1.

 

In 2022, Irwin explained how Burrow really felt about the 'Why not us?' mantra.

 

"Joe had something to say on that. He didn't like that at all," Irwin said on the "Getcha Popcorn Ready with T.O. & Hatch" podcast. "Because he didn't like the underdog narrative. … He never felt like we ever lost a game. We just sort of ran out of time type of thing. … So that was one of my examples for him on his belief system. He said, 'Screw that thing. That ain't us. Like that's not - we don't need to carry that with us.'"

 

 

 

https://sports.yahoo.com/trenton-irwin-cincinnati-bengals-wr-072803783.html

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3 hours ago, Shebengal said:

Thanks for posting.

 

TI is the type of player that Bill Belicheck would pick or pluck off of someone's practice squad. 

Bill Belicheck won Super Bowls with guys like TI (yeah, and Tom Fucking Brady 😆). Love the guy… 

 

TI, not Belicheck

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2 hours ago, New Jersey Bengal said:

Signed my sons hat at last years training cMo super nice guy

I was reading somewhere online that he stays out on the field and helps the grounds keeping crew until staff has to come and get him to go in the locker room.

 

His explanation was that he realizes that he could be injured at any time and have it all taken away so he's going to enjoy it and soak it all in while he can.

 

I guess acting can wait. :)

 

 

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35 minutes ago, Shebengal said:

I was reading somewhere online that he stays out on the field and helps the grounds keeping crew until staff has to come and get him to go in the locker room.

 

His explanation was that he realizes that he could be injured at any time and have it all taken away so he's going to enjoy it and soak it all in while he can.

 

I guess acting can wait. :)

 

 

Wow humble guy that's for sure

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'We call him Tom Brady': How Trenton Irwin became a playmaker for the Bengals

Charlie Goldsmith, Cincinnati Enquirer
Wed, Oct 11, 2023, 8:23 PM CDT·5 min read
 
 

The “Jeopardy host” reads the question in the Cincinnati Bengals’ wide receiver room every Friday. The Bengals’ wide receivers form groups of three and answer questions about the game plan, the offense and different situations that could come up on the field on Sunday.

 

Before the host even finishes reading the question, wide receiver Trenton Irwin chimes in with the correct answer. The other receivers look at the undrafted free agent who’s now a five-year veteran. They wonder, “How did he do it again?”

 

“He answers every question within five seconds,” Bengals wide receiver Andrei Iosivas said. “The question asked could be 15 seconds long and Trenton will answer it within five seconds. It’s insane.”

 

“We call him Tom Brady because Trenton knows everything,” Bengals wide receiver Kwamie Lassiter II said.

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Trenton Irwin battled through four years on practice squads and now has an important role on the Bengals.

Every week, Irwin teams up with Stanley Morgan Jr. and Lassiter. In the Jeopardy games, they’ve developed nicknames. Irwin is Brady, Morgan is future Hall of Fame special teamer Matthew Slater and Lassiter is Rob Gronkowski.

 

Because of Irwin, his Jeopardy team has become a dynasty in the Bengals’ wide receiver room.

 

“The other teams have got the guys who get all the reps,” Irwin said. “I don’t get all the reps. Kwamie and Stan don’t get all these reps. But we’re 8-0 (in the Jeopardy games) this year. That’s our job, to know everything.”

 

More than brain power for wide receiver Irwin

 

Irwin’s combination of football IQ, route running, versatility and patience are the reasons he’s still in the NFL. As an undrafted free agent out of Stanford, Irwin initially signed with the Miami Dolphins in 2019. When the Dolphins cut him at the end of the preseason, Irwin was a free agent for over a month until the Bengals picked him up in October of that year. Then for most of the next three years, Irwin was on the Bengals’ practice squad.

 

Irwin stepped up in November of 2022 when Ja’Marr Chase was out with a hip injury. Irwin played so well that his entire career changed, and he’s now the Bengals’ No. 4 receiver. When Tee Higgins was out last week with a rib injury, Irwin caught eight passes for 60 yards and earned a game ball.

 

When did Irwin know that he’d actually get a chance to play in the NFL?

 

“The thing is you don’t know,” Irwin said. “Last year, I didn’t know at all. I was on the practice squad all year until Ja’Marr got hurt. Your job is to be ready regardless.”

 

Trenton Irwin caught eight passes for 60 yards against the Arizona Cardinals last Sunday.

Earning Joe Burrow's trust

 

After Chase injured his hip, he pulled Irwin aside for a conversation. Chase saw how consistent Irwin was on the practice field, and he could tell how much quarterback Joe Burrow trusted Irwin.

 

Chase told Irwin that he was the next man up, and that this was his moment. Irwin delivered game-changing highlight plays against Pittsburgh, Tennessee and New England and proved who he could be in the NFL.

 

“He has prepared for these moments all along,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said. “When he gets in there, the person who’s surprised the least is Trenton Irwin. And probably the second least surprised is Joe Burrow because he’s worked with him and seen he’s ready for those moments. (Irwin) is just a great example of a guy who put in the work and made the most of his opportunities when they came. Because they didn’t come for several years, he had to be patient and I’m sure deep down, there’s a lot of frustration that he never showed to us.”

 

Irwin had to create his own luck in the NFL. Coming out of college, he wasn’t known for his athleticism like Iosivas and Charlie Jones were. Unlike Tyler Boyd and Ja’Marr Chase, Irwin didn’t post incredible stat lines in college. In his senior year at Stanford, Irwin averaged just 57 receiving yards per game as the No. 2 receiver on a run-first team.

 

Nothing suggested that Irwin would end up making big plays in the NFL, but Irwin made it happen.

 

“It’s been all about route running,” Irwin said. “There are a lot of receivers who run 4.5 40-yard dashes and have been around for 10 years. My job is to do as much as I can, whether it be underneath routes, options, outs, reading defenses. My job is to do it all. The more value I have, the better it’ll be.”

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Trenton Irwin is known for his steady hands, sharp football IQ and versatility in the Bengals' offense.

Note taking and never missing workouts

 

Irwin is known for constantly being at Paycor Stadium. In the middle of the summer, he’ll be in the weight room working on getting a little bit faster and a little bit stronger.

 

Lassiter has learned from Irwin’s note-taking. He recognized that Irwin was always in the right position and saw that Irwin was able to translate adjustments from the meeting room to the field right away. Lassiter saw Irwin’s note-taking process as a way to become more consistent.

Iosivas studies Irwin’s technique. He noticed that Irwin always knew how to find open zones in a defense and that Irwin always made the right choice between going for a possession catch and trying to run for yards after the catch.

 

Morgan is most impressed by Irwin’s steadiness. Over the last five years, Irwin’s combination of positivity and drive has led to him sticking in the NFL.

 

“He has been doing the same things he did since the day he got here,” Morgan Jr. said.“It’s paying off. He’s just being Trenton. He came in here every day and did his job. He has always been doing that. Now, it’s showing up in the games.”

 

 

https://sports.yahoo.com/call-him-tom-brady-trenton-012320681.html

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31 minutes ago, High School Harry said:

Remember when we drafted him and someone on here was posting that he was a sleeper and player to watch?

 

 

He went undrafted, the Dolphins picked him up as a UDFA and cut him in Aug of that year, we picked him up after he was cut from Miami.

 

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