One common theme from the Cincinnati Bengals training camp has been defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence absolutely wrecking what the offense is trying to do just about every play. The guy who has had a front row seat to that is center Ted Karras.
Karras has been around for awhile now. The 33-year-old center is heading into his 11th season. He has been around the block a few times, so when he says something it does carry a bit of weight. He talked about how this was one of the more physical training camps he has been in, and he called Dexter Lawrence the best defensive lineman in the NFL.
Of course, teammates are going to say nice things about each other, but it gives a chance to talk again about having a player like Lawrence could be far more disruptive than someone like Trey Hendrickson at this point in their careers. The most obvious being that Hendrickson is becoming less and less of a three down player, and you can only impact so much when you are just about the only pass rusher on a team. It is also easier to provide help to the edge and for a quarterback to escape. Meanwhile, Lawence will make sure quarterbacks aren’t stepping up in the pocket like they have for years now. He also is going to take up more offensive lineman in the running game, which hopefully will make life easier on the young linebackers to make stops.
None of that is diminish the player Hendrickson was with the Bengals, but we are hearing way more about Lawrence in camp (for the right reasons) than we ever did about Hendrickson.
> “Yes. I’m playing Dexter Lawrence, the best defensive lineman in football,” Karras said. “I get him every day. I wouldn’t call it fun, but it’s a good test of mettle. I’m getting a lot better, and I think we are as a unit.”
> Chad Johnson famously said that “slow feet don’t eat.” Not an issue for fleet-footed Chase Brown who averaged 104.7 combined rushing/receiving yards over the final 11 games last year.
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> “He’s taken a leap every single year and that’s been exciting to watch,” QB Joe Burrow said. “I can’t say enough good things about him.”
Dan Hoard always digs up the best stuff from training camp. This one is filled with plenty of good stuff as usual, but Joe Burrow talking about running back Chase Brown seems particularly noteworthy. He always seems to fly under the radar of this high powered offense. He could prove to be a missing piece this offense needs to truly get over the hump.
> “I like it when he’s \[expletive\] pissed,” Chase said. “I’m not gonna lie. I like the fire that he is. He doesn’t always bring it out. He maybe did it once or twice since camp started, but I like it. I like the fire when he has it.
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> “I wanna say his demeanor is just more aggressive. His face is more aggressive, the way he talks is more aggressive, and he got a little mean mug on his face a little bit,” Chase added when asked what “mean” Joe looks like.
Some may say the Burrow is looking to prove doubters or outsiders wrong. I think it is more apt to say Burrow is sick of losing. It is part of the reason he threw his weight around to keep Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase. You have really seen him go from a guy who let others be the vocal leaders of the team to a guy who is taking the reigns and trying to will this team to win.
> Soft tissue injuries are quite prevalent in the summer heat of camp. It’s very likely the Bengals are taking it easy with one of their key pieces of the secondary. This has given backup DJ Ivey, and third-round pick Tacario Davis reps in his place with the first-team defense.**[
> ](https://atozsports.com/nfl/cincinnati-bengals-news/bengals-injury-update-bj-hill-dax-hill-shemar-stewart/)**
It sounds like Dax Hill should still be ready for the regular season. I am sure he would rather be out there going into a contract season, but he and the team likely do not want to rush him into an injury for the same reason.
> “I think he can only truly answer that, but I feel like this is where it’s at for sure right now. This is where it needs to be and where he felt,” Campbell said. “And his biggest worry was letting us down. That’s the type of guy he is, and he’s not.
The end to a truly interesting career. Not the one that many imagined when he went in the first round to the Minnesota Vikings, but one that many players around the NFL respected.
> Whitworth could potentially receive induction one day based on the fact that he was a two-time All-Pro who, at age 40, helped the Rams defeat his former team (the Bengals) in the Super Bowl. More Pro Bowl selections would have strengthened his case, though. He was ultimately named to four Pro Bowls, including three straight from 2015-17.
Of course, the only thing that could possibly get a Bengals great into the Hall of Fame is coming back and beating Cincinnati in a Super Bowl. Whitworth deserves his spot.
> Washington left tackle Laremy Tunsil suffered a torn triceps in Saturday’s practice and will miss at least a significant portion of the regular season, NFL Network Insider Mike Garafolo and NFL Network’s Steve Wyche reported.
The worst part of training camp is injuries. It just sucks to see great players get injured and have their season ended before it even begins.
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