NFL Trade Rumors
Bengals HC Zac Taylor said that WR Ja’Marr Chase is providing a great litmus test for the defense during training camp.
“A lot of it’s good to have that kind of energy at practice,” Taylor said, via the NY Times. “And Ja’Marr’s a hard guy to make plays on, and so any way, shape or form you’re involved in any sort of play that maybe falls incomplete, guys may never get that opportunity again to say something. Sometimes they gotta take advantage of it … the competitive emphasis has been fun for me to see.”
Bengals rookie DE Shemar Stewart, who was a holdout during the vast majority of the offseason, is working to get acclimated after signing his rookie contract.
“Stance. Alignment. Eyes. Feet. Hands. How we want to rush the quarterback. Where we want to get our eyes and toes to,” DL coach Jerry Montgomery said. “There’s just so much he’s oblivious to because he’s learning. He just got here. But you see the flashes.”
Stewart has shown the flashes and ability that made him a first-round pick.
“He ran by Orlando,” Montgomery said. “Orlando has been playing a lot of football, he’s a great tackle. The first couple of days all (Stewart) wanted to do was run down the middle of people. That’s the easy part. Let’s teach you how to work edges then we’ll come back to that. “Hopefully soon enough we’ll see a guy playing with his hair on fire. It’s going to be hard. He’s 280 pounds, can run, he’s violent, he’s physical. Now he’s playing with good fundamentals. Now he’s controlling the line of scrimmage. That’s the goal … He’s nowhere near where he’s going to get to if he continues to buy into the process and the preparation and learning how to play at this level. You just can’t run around and do whatever you want. He’s got to play within the system, and we are teaching him that.”
Bengals TE Noah Fant, who recently signed with the team, is hoping to revive his career in Cincinnati and compete for a championship.
“That’s definitely a known thing,” Fant said about the production and payment. “Obviously, that is one of the enticing things about coming here. Hopefully, I’m able to do so. First and foremost, help the team win. They have big dreams and aspirations here of winning the Super Bowl. I want to help do that and be part of a winning culture.”
