The Bengals’ offense has a problem in training camp: Dexter Lawrence.
Lawrence, the defensive tackle who arrived in Cincinnati in a trade with the Giants this offseason, has been a menace, even though he’s not allowed to touch the quarterback.
Bengals guard Dalton Risner told Jori Epstein of Yahoo Sports that Lawrence is bringing intensity to training camp.
“There’s certain guys in this league like Dexter who wreck a whole game play and you have to do everything around them and you change everything you’re doing,” Risner said. “You’re going to have to change how you block against certain guys. He’s just making us do it really early and really often.”
Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase said Lawrence is causing the Bengals’ offense problems.
“Honestly, he’s been terrorizing practice,” Chase said. “I can honestly say that.”
Bengals offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher said Lawrence is pressure testing the Bengals’ offensive line.
“When you have a man as big as [Lawrence], the quick twitch and the speed they’re able to play with just disarms you,” Pitcher said. “I don’t know what you do to counteract that other than you just really focus on the technique of this interior line and you got to be really cognizant of what types of schemes you’re trying to run and how often that guy’s truly one-on-one.”
Hakeem Adeniji will not be providing the Ravens with offensive line depth this season.
The team announced on Monday morning that Adeniji has been placed on the reserve/retired list. Adeniji signed with the Ravens a little over a week ago, but he has decided against continuing his NFL career.
Adeniji was a Bengals sixth-round pick in 2020 and he started 15 of the 39 regular season games he played over three years with the team. He also made seven starts in the postseason.
Adeniji, who saw action at both guard and tackle, moved on to the Vikings in 2024 and the Cowboys in 2025. He played 16 games and made one start in those stops.
While Bengals defensive end Shemar Stewart was carted off the field from practice on Wednesday, he should be OK relatively soon.
Head coach Zac Taylor told reporters on Thursday that Stewart “avoided a major injury.”
“He hyperextended his knee,” Taylor said, via Ben Baby of ESPN. “It will be several weeks. Hard to pinpoint exactly how much in training camp that’ll be. But, very fortunate because obviously it looked bad and he’s put in a lot of work. So, hard to see him go down like that. But, the good news is we’ll be getting him back sooner rather than later.”
As noted by a joint report from ESPN and NFL Network, Stewart is not believed to have suffered any ligament damage.
The No. 17 overall pick of the 2025 draft, Stewart appeared in eight games with five starts as a rookie. He recorded one sack with two tackles for loss, four quarterback hits, and one pass defensed last year.
The Bengals may have a significant injury concern with one of their key defensive players.
Defensive end Shemar Stewart was carted off the field after suffering an apparent leg injury during 11-on-11 drills at Wednesday’s practice.
Video posted by Caleb Noe of WCPO shows Stewart’s left leg buckling before he went down.
Kelsey Conway of the Cincinnati Enquirer noted Stewart was not able to put any weight on his left leg while leaving the field. The Bengals’ medical staff examined him briefly on the field before calling over the cart to take Stewart inside.
The No. 17 overall pick of last year’s draft, Stewart appeared in eight games with five starts as a rookie. He tallied one sack with two tackles for loss and four QB hits.
The Bengals made moves to add to their defense in multiple ways this offseason and the moves earned the approval of quarterback Joe Burrow.
Burrow called this year’s Bengals team the most talented that he has been a part of and shared that he believes the team has all it needs to contend for a championship. With training camp about to start, head coach Zac Taylor made it clear on Monday that he is in the same frame of mind as his quarterback.
“We’ve got what we need,” Taylor said, via the team’s website. “With everybody upstairs and ownership and personnel doing an unbelievable job, trying to provide us with the resources to go in. It’s on the players and the coaches to go get it done. And there’s a genuine excitement in the community. I’m in Cincinnati. I’m out and about. The people that I run into, whether I know them or don’t, you can feel the genuine excitement for the season.”
That excitement is attached to high expectations for Taylor in his eighth season on the sideline in Cincinnati and failing to meet them would impact his chances of seeing a ninth year. Taylor would be in the same position regardless of where he set the bar, so there’s little reason for him to avoid admitting what the offseason moves already stated about the team’s ambitions.
