The Bengals and Bears will hold a joint practice ahead of their Aug. 22 preseason game at Paycor Stadium.
The teams will work together on Thursday, Aug. 20, marking the second time in three seasons the Bengals and Bears have practiced against each other.
Bears coach Ben Johnson and Bengals coach Zac Taylor have a close friendship dating to the 2012 season when they worked together on the Dolphins staff.
“It’s very easy,” Taylor said when asked if his friendship with Johnson affects the scheduling, via Jay Morrison of SI.com. “He’s been great. So he and I will iron that out over the next couple of days, but they’ll come here.”
The teams last practiced together in 2024, when rain marred the day. Two Bengals players were lost for the season with knee injuries, as running back Chris Evans and offensive tackle D’Ante Smith tore a patellar tendon.
Bengals quarterback Joe Flacco has been sacked by Myles Garrett and has been a teammate of Garrett in Cleveland, and Flacco knows it’s much better to be playing with Garrett than against him.
The news that Garrett is no longer a division rival after he was traded from the Browns to the Rams on Monday was met with approval by Flacco.
“Good for us,” Flacco said, via Bengals.com.
The Bengals’ two starting offensive tackles, Amarius Mims and Orlando Brown Jr., both saw the trade as good for the Rams and good for Garrett.
“I’m pretty sure anybody practicing today at the time we were practicing, no matter what it was, I assure you every team got a hold of that news,” Mims said. “It’s huge when you get a guy like Myles Garrett, a future Hall of Famer. It’s going to be a buzz. Congrats to those guys.”
Brown said it’s a good deal for Garrett to go to a contender, but that the Bengals can’t be concerned about what other teams are doing.
“It doesn’t matter. You still have to go win on Sundays. Congrats to Myles. That’s how I feel. We still have to go win,” Brown said.
With Garrett gone, the Bengals’ task of winning twice against the Browns this year gets a little easier.
Bengals coach Zac Taylor said earlier this offseason that Shemar Stewart’s development is a “priority” for the team.
The Bengals drafted Stewart in the first round in 2205, but his rookie season was marred by missed time, because of a contract dispute, as well as injuries. He had a lingering ankle injury early in the season and a torn posterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in Week 9.
He appeared in eight games with six tackles and a sack.
“Last year I would go out there, and I’m saying, ‘I somewhat know what I need to do, but I’m not 100 percent sure,’” Stewart said this week, via Jay Morrison of SI.com. “And then I go out there and I overthink. Then I don’t make a play. Then it’s just a whole lot of things because I’m just too up in here.”
Stewart has formed a close relationship with defensive line coach Jerry Montgomery, which he thinks will help in his development.
“I think I got my first ‘good job,’ from Jerry,” Stewart said. “That’s my guy. He never gave up on me. Always held me close even though when I wasn’t performing good, he always stood by me.”
Stewart does not project as a starter for the Bengals with free-agent signee Boye Mafe and Myles Murphy expected to hold those spots. But the Bengals still have big expectations for Stewart.
“I’ve still got a lot of work to do, but I’m so excited to play with these guys,” Stewart said. “We got two monsters added to the room, so I can’t wait to see how this year turns out.”
The next two drafts have been awarded. The third one could be on the way.
Via the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Cincinnati Regional Sports Commission and the Bengals have engaged in an “ongoing conversation with the NFL” to host the 2029 NFL draft.
Per the report, the Bengals have submitted a letter of interest. Cincinnati has not submitted a formal bid at this point.
For now, there’s no timeline for a decision.
The 2027 NFL draft will be held in D.C. Last week, the NFL awarded the 2028 NFL draft to Minneapolis.
If the draft happens in Cincinnati, where would it occur? Said Cincinnati Regional Sports Commission executive director Ben Huffman, “Wherever [the NFL] would like it to be, we will make it happen.”
That’s the right attitude. Nearly every NFL city wants the draft. That gives the NFL the ability to dictate any and all terms to any city that gets it.
The rash of 2024 burglaries targeting NFL players (including Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce) has resulted in more arrests.
Via ESPN, authorities in Argentina recently apprehended three Chilean citizens in connection with the crimes: Ignacio Zuniga Cartes, Bastian Jimenez Freraut, and Pablo Zuniga Cartes.
The men are currently in Chile, awaiting extradition to the United States.
The crime ring also is tied to the 2024 burglary at the home of Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow.
The burglaries allegedly included tracking the travel of athletes, along with technology that bypassed alarm systems and jammed WiFi networks. The group allegedly stole millions in cash, jewelry, and other property.
The three men arrested in Argentina are among seven who were charged in February 2025, in connection with the burglaries. Three others are awaiting trial for the Burrow burglary. Another pleaded guilty in March 2026 to interstate transportation of stolen property.
