Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow thinks this year’s additions on defense make Cincinnati a Super Bowl contender. And wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase agrees.
Burrow appeared on Chase’s podcast and the two of them discussed how excited they are about this year’s defense.
“I just want to win this year,” Burrow said. “I just want to win. The rest will take care of itself. I think we’ll break a bunch of records eventually, but I think we’re going to have a really good team that has a chance to win every game that we step foot on the field for. I don’t know about you, but I could really feel it in my bones, in my soul in OTAs this year, different from years past. Where we brought in a lot of the right guys, a lot of the right people with the right mindsets to go and chase this goal of winning a Super Bowl and winning as many games as we can and being the best possible team that we can. I felt it from our D-line. I felt it from our defense. Our offense has the same guys as years past, so we felt that for the last couple years, as good as we’ve been. But these veteran guys that we brought in on defense to be able to help our younger guys.”
Chase compared this year’s Bengals to the 2021 team that lost Super Bowl LVI to the Rams.
“I can feel it too. The fact that our defense talks a little trash, I like that,” Chase said. “That’s what we need. It feels like 2021 all over again, with the guys talking trash, because we had a lot of guys who talked on defense.”
Burrow repeatedly used the word “excited” when discussing the aggressive move the Bengals’ front office made to trade the No. 10 overall pick in the draft to the Giants for defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence.
“I’m just excited to see Dexter out there. I’m excited to see big Dex out there,” Burrow said. “I’m excited to see Dex in uniform. I’m excited to see what he can do for us. That’s not something we’ve done in the past, trade a first-round pick for a player like that. I know the fans were excited, I’m just as excited.”
Burrow is heading into his seventh year with the Bengals, and they’ve only made the playoffs twice. He believes this is going to be a big year. If it’s not, some big questions are going to be raised about the direction the franchise is heading in.
Bengals defensive end Shemar Stewart returned to practice on Wednesday, ESPN’s Ben Baby reports.
It was Stewart’s first practice since hyperextending his left knee on the first practice of training camp July 29.
Stewart was carted off the field with what initially appeared to be a serious injury. However, an MRI showed no ligament damage, and Stewart has rehabbed his way back to the field five weeks later.
He was wearing a brace on his left knee on Wednesday.
The No. 17 overall pick of the 2025 draft, Stewart missed time last season with right ankle and left knee injuries. He appeared in eight games with five starts as a rookie.
Stewart recorded one sack with two tackles for loss, four quarterback hits and one pass defensed last year.
The Buccaneers are headed into Week 1 with a pair of question marks at the top of their wide receiver group.
Emeka Egbuka has been sidelined by a toe injury and Jalen McMillan has a knee injury that’s also kept him off the field recently. They were both working on the side during Wednesday’s practice, which is progress from past days and head coach Todd Bowles was asked about their outlook during a press conference.
“They’re headed in the right direction,” Bowles said. “I don’t know how fast. I’ll have a better gauge next week. They’re moving forward every day, so we’ll see next week.”
The Bucs will start issuing injury reports for their Week 1 game against the Bengals next Wednesday and the status of the two wideouts will be high on the list of concerns once they come out.
The Bengals are practicing without their top two wideouts on Tuesday.
Reporters at the team’s workout share that neither Ja’Marr Chase nor Tee Higgins is participating. Chase hyperextended his knee during a practice last week and Higgins is dealing with a heel contusion.
Head coach Zac Taylor said at a pre-practice press conference that both wideouts will be limited participants in practice throughout the week, but expressed no concern about their chances of missing the team’s Week 1 game against the Buccaneers.
Taylor also said that cornerback Dax Hill will work back into practice this week, but defensive end Shemar Stewart will remain in the rehab group as he works his way back from a knee injury.
Veteran quarterback Josh Johnson’s third stint with the Bengals will continue.
Johnson will sign with Cincinnati’s practice squad, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports.
The Bengals have just two quarterbacks on their 53-man roster in Joe Burrow and backup Joe Flacco.
Johnson, 40, signed a one-year deal with the Bengals in March after spending last season with the Commanders. He appeared in five games with two starts for Washington, completing 63 percent of his passes for 372 yards with one touchdown and two picks.
In this year’s preseason for Cincinnati, Johnson completed 60.7 percent of his passes for 396 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions.
Johnson’s long career has now seen him play for the Bucs, 49ers, Browns, Bengals, Jets, Colts, Bills, Ravens, Giants, Texans, Raiders, Lions, Commanders, and Broncos.
