Cincinnati plays the Washington Commanders on Monday night, and then faces a quick turnaround to the preseason finale Aug. 23 at home against the Indianapolis Colts. Usually the third game is used to protect starters and key backups and allow those fighting for roles and roster spots to put more snaps on film, but Taylor said he wasn’t ready to declare those plans.
Here are three things to know going into preseason Game 2:
1. Who is available?
Taylor said tight end Mike Gesicki, defensive end Myles Murphy, offensive lineman Cordell Volson and safety Geno Stone are all out Monday, and cornerback DJ Turner is “questionable.” Taylor said wide receiver Jermaine Burton, dealing with an undisclosed injury, also is up in the air. He practiced Saturday but was not in team drills.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Gesicki has been nursing a hamstring injury for the past two weeks, while Stone felt tightness in his hamstring four plays into the preseason opener. Murphy appeared to hurt his right ankle in practice Tuesday and has been out since then, and Volson injured his right shoulder in practice Friday.
Turner has been in and out of practices this week and was working on the rehab field Saturday, along with a couple unexpected additions to the list of injured players in offensive lineman Cody Ford and cornerback Jalen Davis.
Defensive end Cedric Johnson and offensive tackle Devin Cochran also continued rehab work Saturday.
2. Goals for Game 2
Cincinnati struggled with penalties, especially on special teams, and giving up big plays on defense in the preseason opener, so Taylor said he wants to see “better attention to detail” in preseason Game 2.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
“There’s so many foolish things we did,” Taylor said. “Pre-snap primarily, a little bit of post-snap, that had nothing to do with Philadelphia. It felt like we did not give ourselves the best chance to win that game. Who cares, preseason game, regular season game, it should all feel the same for us, postgame locker room and all that stuff. That part was really disappointing, that we’re overall so much better at, we’ve done a good job at practice of that, and it did not carry over to the game. And I expect to see us much cleaner in this game operationally.”
Wide receiver Andrei Iosivas said the snaps on Monday will be important for helping the team get into a more consistent rhythm in a game environment before Week 1.
3. Eyes on these guys
The offensive line depth was looking even thinner Saturday with Ford working on the rehab field, and that is becoming increasingly more of a concern.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
Ford was competing for the starting right guard job but spent most of his snaps this week at tackle, seemingly to prepare him for a role as the swing tackle to back up Amarius Mims and Orlando Brown Jr. He’s likely the first guy off the bench at any position besides center.
Taylor did not mention any issues with Ford in his press conference before practice, despite being asked whether he would play some right guard or remain at tackle. He simply said the staff hasn’t “made all those decisions yet.”
With Volson out with what could potentially be a long-term injury, there’s also no clear backup to Dylan Fairchild now.
“I think that’s still a work in progress, to see how it all shakes out, who ends up where,” Taylor said. “A lot of guys have battled through injuries, so you’re missing guys for a couple of days. You’re missing a guy for a game. So, I think we have to continue to work through that and see how it shakes out.”
The Bengals also will get a chance to see how they are looking at cornerback, where several guys have been rotating in with the first-team in camp. Cam Taylor-Britt and Dax Hill, who has been playing a lot in the slot, are expected to play Monday. They are both likely starters on this defense but the game snaps will be useful in preparing them for Week 1.
TODAY’S GAME
Who: Cincinnati at Washington
When: 8 p.m., Monday, Aug. 18
TV: ESPN
Radio: 104.7-FM
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