Bengals make MORE moves... Huge Bengals Updates

The Bengals make more moves and changes to their roster ahead of the Jaguars game in week four with a positional change and two signings to backfill some injuries suffered last week. We're diving into all of it, so be sure to stick around to the very end. Thank you for joining us here today on Bengals Digest. We really appreciate you guys tuning in today, wherever you may be. If you're part of that 75% who watch and are not yet subscribed, help us reach our goal of getting 6,000 subscribers. Hopefully we can do that by mid-season. We're getting awfully close, so really appreciate you guys chugging along and helping us out. It's completely free to do so, so why not? We talk today about some changes that the Bengals are making to their roster. There's been some signings you may have not even seen them because they kind of all happened around the same time. First, we're going to dive into this injury report that we're looking at for week four for the Jags and the Bengals. Of course, top of the Bengals, you see Jordan Battle and Brian Cook, both limited in practice today and then Kyle Duggar, BJ Hill, Dalton Reisner, and Colby Young all did not participate in practice. Now, we knew the news about Colby Young and BJ Hill. We'll dive into a little bit more with Kyle Duggar, Brian Cook, and Colby Young. Of course, we know Colby Young suffered that injury. Jordan Battle was a little bit of a surprise that I saw today, but that's the way things go in a long season. They're going to rest up, guys, sooner rather than later. As you get older, these things happen. You start to notice your energy isn't what it used to be, your focus isn't there, and you don't recover as well the older you get, but it's a decline that is so gradual you really don't even notice it until it's too late. That is where today's sponsor, Mars Men, comes in. 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With all that being said, without further ado, we dive into some of the changes to the Bengals roster that were announced this week. First of all, coming to us from Trags, Al Golden confirms it'll be a Dax Hill at Nickel Corner with Josh Newton in the mix as well. He said, we have a long way to go in this journey, DJ Ivy in the mix outside also. Golden doesn't feel that they're at a disadvantage yet. Each game is its own bingo board. What I'm trying to do is eliminate the unforced errors and play the game on our terms a little bit better. We have to be really physical in this game, and we know the Jags have performed well as of late. When you talk about Dax Hill and the way that he's performed up to this season, he's played pretty well. Something that the stats don't show here is he's had five pass breakups, which is actually tied for second in the league right now, and you can see his tackle statistics and everything there. Across his career, we've seen he's had a pretty good output for the Bengals and pretty solid season up to this point. So he continues with this saying, this is the full quote from Al Golden on Dax Hill and illustrates why so many people in the organization trust him, especially Golden. He said, I say it to you guys all the time. I love the man. I think he's a phenomenal person. He's unselfish. Really didn't have any intention of putting him back at the slot position, but every season unfolds in a different way, and he's so unselfish that he goes inside, press him into that duty during the game, and he responded for us. He's tough inside. It's not too big for him. So again, I'm really impressed with him, and as I recall his knowledge, again, I just can't say enough good things about Dax Hill. And this is all great and fine. I'm okay with it, although this isn't his natural position, and I think when you're talking contract time for Dax Hill, this is going to be a factor. I know that he's pretty much just going with the motions, doing what coaches ask of him as a true professional would, and I respect him on that front, but I do see this being an issue when contracts are brought up for Dax Hill, talking about, hey, I want to go somewhere where I want to play my primary position at the outside corner. And Takario Davis at the time doesn't really make sense to be putting there at that slot corner position, so this is a way that his secondary depth chart kind of shapes out right now. So, you know, some injuries here. We talk about Brian Cook and Kyle Duggar a little bit later, but specifically on the cornerback front. Now at the outside corners, you have DJ Turner and Takario Davis, like we saw in last week's game. Dax Hill moved to the inside, being backed up by Josh Newton, and then Jossier Taylor and Jalen Davis are both on IR. So a little bit beaten up in that room, but we look further on to next week. Here's what Zach Taylor had to say about Brian Cook and Kyle Duggar for this week. He said PJ's been right there practicing the whole time, so we feel good about the depth. We'll see where those guys are tomorrow, and it looks like, as we looked at earlier in the injury report, Brian Cook was limited and Kyle Duggar did not participate. So not looking good for Kyle Duggar, but Brian Cook looking a little bit more promising. Now on the front of Jossier Taylor, all season he has been the backup slot cornerback, but Zach Taylor said this, said close. We'll get through this week and into the return window and then evaluate it next week to see how close he is to returning. So looks like a little bit better on the horizon for Jossier Taylor, who hopefully is going to be coming off IR and doing well for us. So what did they do in the absence of these guys? You know, it's a little bit beat up right now. They did sign two guys to their practice squad. So first up is Bo Brady, Braid, not sure how to pronounce it, B-R-A-D-E. Bo Braid from the Giants signed him to the practice squad and a familiar face, an undrafted free agent that they had this offseason in Isaiah in Wachovia, is a safety. Bo Braid is a cornerback, so getting a little bit of depth in that secondary. Apologize, Bo Braid is also a safety. So, you know, backing up that secondary, like I said, um, how I feel about these signings, I feel good. I don't know that these guys are going to touch the field. If anyone, I see it being Isaiah in Wachovia, because like I said, they did get him this offseason. He's worked with the team, might know the defense a little bit better than Brady. But either way, I do think that it's great to have some additional depth that you're bringing into this roster. And these two signings are really just going to help out with the depth in the long term. And, I mean, you talk about this defense, you look at the way the injury report looks. Of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the Jags injuries, which you see it there. They've got a couple cornerbacks down, defensive tackles. They've got a wide receiver out in Jacobi Myers. And then one offensive lineman was limited in practice today with his knee, Cole Van Lannen. So, all that being said, this defense needs some assistance. They need players to step up. Luckily, they have not gotten too hurt in the linebacker room, which is probably their weakest position. So, up to this point, staying healthy there, knock on wood. But you know, Dexter can't do it all. I mean, you look at the stats for Dexter Lawrence, I mean, this is just absolutely nuts to look at this graphic. And you look at the pressures there on the left side of the graph. And on the bottom part of the graph, double-team rate when you're looking at advanced metrics. And Lawrence far above the rest. He draws a lot of attention and he gets a lot of pressures, even with the attention that he's drawing. So, just an incredible season for him up to this point. He is dominating offenses, but he can't protect in the secondary. So, these guys are going to have to figure it out. I'm interested to see how Dax performs in the slot. Hopefully, he keeps up this good season. I do think it's probably the best move right now if they aren't going to make an external move. I do like this for them right now in terms of someone who's familiar with the position, with the defense. Al Golden feels good putting him there. So, I trust it for this week. Hopefully, you know, these guys stay healthy. I think it's going to be a true test of Takario Davis there on the outside, truly. I do think that him being with Dax Hill, it looks good. On paper, Takario Davis has played well up to this point. You know, I like him better than DJ Ivy, personally, at the moment. So, I like the way that it stands, but we'll have to see how he holds up being the starting outside corner there. With all that being said, thank you guys for joining us here today on Bengals Digest. We got more news coming for you ahead of the week 4 game against the Jags, but stay tuned here on Bengals Digest and subscribe if you have not already.