The Bengals Have One BIG Problem They Can't Ignore Anymore...
John Sheeran breaks down the biggest winners, roster developments and concerns from Bengals vs. Bears, including Dohnte Meyers' continued rise, Colbie Young 's impressive performance, Tanner Hudson 's roster outlook, Landon Robinson's emergence and Cincinnati 's increasingly concerning situation at backup offensive tackle.
Video Transcript
For the first time since 2018, the Cincinnati Bengals have a positive record in the preseason.
What does that mean?
Well, hopefully for Zach Taylor he doesn't get fired at the end of the year like Marvin Lewis did that year, but probably nothing.
It's still cool to see the Bengals win early on in the year.
I'm John Sheeran of A to Z Sports Cincinnati.
This is A to Z Sports Cincinnati covering your Cincinnati Bengals throughout the 2026 preseason.
We're going live yet again after another Bengals preseason win, this time 27-9 over the Chicago Bears.
Obviously earlier in the week was when most of the action with the actual players that you may know, Joe Burrow, Jamar Chase, T. Higgins, Dexter Lawrence, all the stars of the team, practiced against the Bears in a joint practice, intrasquad scrimmage, controlled, simulated environment where you had a lot of takeaways and you had a lot of positives, developments, you know, on-field reps. Last time that those guys are going to be facing another team before the regular season happens.
They did not play in this preseason game and there were even some backups who didn't play, in this preseason game for the Bengals against the Bears.
And that's where we're going to start.
We had Josh Johnson starting at quarterback for the Bengals and he looked considerably better this time around compared to, his debut with the Bengals, last week against the Lions.
I thought he was more controlled, more poised in the pocket, more accuracy downfield.
He gave his receivers a chance to make plays.
And the first receivers that were out there, you know, Andre Osivach obviously with the starters did not play.
So your starting three receivers for the Bengals were Coby Young, Mitchell Tinsley, and Dante Myers.
The first play of the game, future 12 personnel was just two receivers on the field.
So it was both Myers and Young who shared the field.
And that was my first big takeaway because everyone who follows the Bengals knew that this was going to be a really big day for Dante Myers to continue proving his worth as potentially the sixth receiver on this roster.
And I think it was notable that Charlie Jones was not out there with the starting trio, with the starting three receivers.
It was Tinsley who eventually came onto the field when they went into, 11 personnel.
So Myers got that chance immediately and he caught the first pass of the game.
Like he had a handful of targets in, in the first opening parts of the game, even got another carry on, on another jet sweep.
So continued to see involvement in the offense, obviously very good, news and a very good sign for him in his progression up the depth chart.
And now that, you know, he has, has been getting these looks and it's very likely that he is in good graces to make this team, th- that was quite notable.
Like I, I didn't think he, that he needed to completely pop off in this game.
He ended up with five receptions for 41 yards, a little bit more productive than last time.
I, I, I didn't think he needed to like wow anyone as a returner.
I think just getting opportunities there was still gonna be important for him.
It was just notable for me to see him out there along with Young, who's obviously gonna make the team as the fourth round pick.
And he, in my opinion, had like the best overall game out of any receiver out there with three receptions, 48 yards, and his touchdown from Josh Johnson earlier in the game.
Just those two sideline receptions on the first drive, like that was all I needed to see from him, honestly.
Like I think he played, honestly a little bit too much in this game.
He ended up with eight targets, which is like the most targets a Bengals receiver has got in the preseason in quite some time.
Obviously he's gonna make the team.
I think he is in line now to get some very real opportunities during the regular season, continuing to potentially rotate in with Iosivas as that big slot receiver to compliment both Chase and Higgins.
At this point, like I, I still have flashbacks to Joseph Asai getting injured in the preseason debut in 2021, knowing that he was, again, like this mid-round rookie who was slated to have a pretty decent role in his rookie season.
He unfortunately, you know, plays w- well into the first preseason game, I believe tears his Achilles or it was a torn ACL.
It was a season-ending injury.
You don't want to see, that happen to any, rookie who is slated to have some sort of an impact in his rookie season.
So I didn't like how long Coby Young played in this game, knowing that he was a little locked for the roster, but obviously the more opportunities that he gets, you know, he ma- made the most of them.
So it, it was good to see both Robinson or, excuse me, Myers and Coby Young taking advantage of their targets.
And yeah, I, I feel really good about Myers at this point, making the team, getting those opportunities as a punt returner, creating some yards of his own.
I believe on his last return, that was quite impressive as well.
So Charlie Jones didn't come into the game as a receiver until much later in the game, and that's probably just indicative of either A, they just know who he is as a receiver and they were giving Myers more chances, or B, that's just a reflection of what the depth chart looks like.
This has been nothing but momentum for Dante Myers over the last handful of weeks.
Last week, you know, it was his debut and it was a good story, but now he's just continuing to build off of that.
So that was impressive to see.
I want to go more in positional order here, going down to the offense, then we'll get to the defense.
I want to quickly touch on tight ends as well.
Tanner Hudson catches the second touchdown of the game at the end of the first half.
Just seems like he's a lock for the roster again.
I know we've talked every single year basically since 2024 about who is going to push Tanner Hudson off this team, and I, I do think that Jack Endries has a good chance of making it.
I, I think five tight ends is probably where they're gonna go, and Tanner Hudson's just one of those five.
Like he's just a such a seamless fit, especially as a red zone target.
He just has such chemistry with both the second and first team units.
Joe Burrow still trusts him.
He just continues to show up, and he's playing a lot of special teams as well, and he's playing deep into this preseason in that role.
So I, I just feel like there's just too much trust in him for him to not make this team, or at the very least be like an instant, like, you know, come back to the practice squad, instant elevation when, you know, injuries happen.
So, you know, him showing up in this environment does not surprise me in the slightest, and it just seems like he's probably a lock to make the team as well.
But now we get to the offensive line, and this was-- it, it's, it's almost like this game confirmed that there's a good problem that the Bengals have, and there's a bad problem that the Bengals have.
The good problem is that they have an embarrassment of riches at wide receiver, and we knew this going into the game.
But I think, again, Myers and Young continue to solidify it.
Mitchell Tinsley's like the silent giant in the room that, like, c- can pop off at any moment with, like, a game-breaking catch that he did plenty of times last year.
So the Bengals have this issue about which configuration of receivers that, that they wanna keep and that they feel like they need to keep, you know, behind their starting trio.
But then at offensive line, this whole week has been Jalen Rivers, Jalen Rivers, Jalen Rivers getting chances to be the backup swing tackle at left tackle.
Cody Ford gets moved inside to guard.
They just-- the belief in him is just dwindling at this point.
Jalen Rivers was drafted last year as this guard, tackle, swing, versatile backup, someone who played both positions in college, someone who moved from tackle to guard in his first training camp, didn't do well at either position really, comes back this year.
They feel like he's gonna be a guard full-time.
But then Cody Ford, you know, is Cody Ford.
There's just not a lot of faith in him anymore.
So they give Jalen Rivers one more chance to tackle, and he does not play well tonight.
He has one of the l- the lowest, pass blocking grades according to Pro Football, Pro Football Focus' initial grades from this game, gives up a hit in pass protection as well.
It, yeah, it, it just wasn't a good performance for him, mostly at left tackle.
He did slide into guard, I think, at the very end, for a handful of spots or a handful of snaps at left guard.
This, this was his chance.
Like, this was, I think, his true audition to be the backup swing tackle, and i- if Cody Ford has already lost that opportunity because he only played, I think, he, he-- so yeah, he played a handful of snaps at tackle, but I think it was, like, all at right guard for him in this game.
If it's not Ford and it's not Rivers, I don't know if the swing tackle's on this team, and that's very concerning for obvious reasons, not just because they don't know who it is, but also because they don't know where it's gonna come from if it's not already on the team.
It's very unlikely that the Bengals are gonna be able to find on the waiver wire someone that they would feel confident in being that first tackle off the bench.
If it's not on the team right now, I don't know if you find it on the waiver wire.
I don't know if you find it from final cuts in a week from now.
If there is a player for player trade that the Bengals are going to make before the season begins They did this with David Jones, Reggie Nelson back in 2010.
They did this with Billy Price in, in, in order to acquire B.J.
Hill in 2021.
If they are to potentially trade someone like a Chris Jenkins, maybe even, like, a Mitch Tinsley, right?
If they feel like they can trade one of their receivers away that they feel like they can't keep on the team in order to get a swing tackle, that is probably the move that the Bengals are going to end up trying to make.
I know that there was talks about them being interested in cornerback Carrington Valentine.
Maybe there is still interest in getting a cornerback in there in case, you know, talks break down with either Dax Hill or D.J.
Turner.
But it just feels like the most pressing issue on this team right now is that there is just no depth.
There's no reliable depth behind either Ole Jonah Brown Jr. Or Amarius Mims.
That is very concerning.
It was concerning tonight when Jalen Rivers just didn't play well.
He had the, he had the penalty in the beginning of the, almost, a sack allowed.
I don't believe any offensive lineman allowed a sack in this game for the Bengals, which was very positive.
I thought for the most part pass protection was great for both Josh Johnson and then Shawn Clifford, who I thought dealt pretty well in some of his most extended time as the fourth string quarterback, who ended up playing the entirety of the second half, and he had a great touchdown pass to Noah Thomas, but a great stutter and go in the end zone.
It was great to see him show out.
I think he's a lock to make the practice squad at this point, so that's awesome to see.
It was a functional offense because the offensive line as a whole protected well, and that was promising.
But again, right now, I just don't know who the backup left tackle is on this roster.
Javon Foster came in for just, I believe the second half, and then when they moved, J- Jalen Rivers a- away at that point, or it was just, like, a handful of snaps at the, at the very end of the game.
This was Jalen Rivers' chance, and I just feel like he just didn't capitalize off of it.
Yeah, Bruce CB, "Can they trade Tinsley?"
I, it, it's tough to say.
I feel like Tinsley is someone that I think the Bengals are more high on than pretty much anyone else in the NFL, but there is obviously that tape out there from what he did last year in those limited chances.
And yeah, if there's injuries to another team in which re- like, they just don't have a lot of receiver depth, that is a situation in which maybe it happens.
But again, like, the, the price for quality offensive lineman, even as backups, is just unreasonably high almost.
Like, that's the whole reason why the Bengals were able to get B.J.
Hill from the Giants.
B.J.
Hill was diminishing as, like, you know, his role was dwindling as his time in New York was going on and entering his third year.
He was slowly and slowly, you know, seeing less of the field, and the Giants were desperate for just depth along the offensive line.
The Bengals had no use for Billy Price at that point, so they got a quality rotational defensive lineman for a first-round bust ultimately, and that's why the price is inflated for just even backup offensive linemen.
So, like, Tinsley is the first that comes to mind just because, like, again, like, there's a lot of promise with Colby Young, and you wanna keep Dante Myers, not just for, his returning ability, but also, like, he's got great yards after the catch ability, and he showed that again tonight.
So Tinsley d- does come to mind.
I think Chris Jenkins obviously, makes sense as, as a trade target, just because as we transition more to the defense now, Lyndon Robinson shows up again, one and a half sacks as a pass, pass defense and also draws a couple of penalties, just continues to look like an impact player, someone that they can rely on to fill in with some of their schemes and is able to produce in the moments where that production is ripe for the taking for him.
It's not always just him winning one-on-one and getting into the backfield.
But, like, his sack, in which he had, like, the, the salute celebration, that was off a l- of, of a stunt, of, of a tackle, tackle stunt, and he just looped around the formation and was able to accelerate into the backfield.
So, him showing up in those moments in which the production is designed for him to, to gain based off of the schemes that Al Golden is running, that's huge for him to, to stay on this team and, and potentially make an impact.
So if they feel like Chris, Chris Jenkins is disposable because he's, he's not having the, the worst preseason, he's putting up quality tape, maybe he becomes a trade target.
Again, like, I'm just thinking, like, th- they have so much depth at wide receiver, they have so much depth along the defensive line, and they have basically no depth at offensive line.
So if you're trying to figure out what the Bengals can do at the waiver wire or right before the regular season and what are these trades, that has to be where they probably look William House, eight six two S. Blake Fisher, left tackle, Texans would be a great trade.
Maybe.
Blake Fisher was this, this guy with, like, a lot of tools coming out of the draft, ended up being like a mid-round pick.
Had some athleticism, but just hasn't really put it together.
Texans offensive linemen, like, they've just been churning guys in and out, and basically, basically have an entire new unit there.
So he may be a guy that, like, maybe the regime is pretty down on at this point because he couldn't be that answer for them.
So yeah, that, that makes sense as, like, maybe like a bi-load type of a, type of an option.
Ronald Schilling, "Hudson just bl- makes plays when his number gets called."
It's kind of the story of his career, man.
Like, like I still remember 2023 when he was produ- outproducing most quality tight ends in the NFL at that time, and that was when, you know, Joe Burrow was coming back and re- regaining full form from his calf injury, and that's where the trust k- was first established, and it just has been growing ever and ever since.
Tight end could be another position in which they feel like they have an embarrassment of riches and they may be, may be able to, have one of them be expendable and off for a trade.
Is That- that's really what these first two preas- preseason games are about.
It's just an opportunity for these draft guys to solidify themselves in roles, and if they feel like there's The numbers game is just not gonna work out for some of these positions, then that's where the Bengals can get creative and try to make a more balanced roster.
Because I think their backup offensive line, Connor Lue was fine in his debut.
I didn't notice anything, tremendously good or bad with him.
Brian Parker, who I thought was even better than he was last week, which was a, an impressive debut, but he was getting after it in the run game.
He was firing off the ball, getting into the second level, making some impact blocks.
He was stout in pass protection.
So I, I do like the, the promise of those guys.
Jacob Bayer continues to play well, and if the, if a team doesn't have a backup center, then maybe that's an opportunity for the Bengals to get some sort of, like, an offensive lineman for an offensive lineman swap in which they can get a tackle.
But Bayer is good enough to make this team.
It's just a matter of how many interior guys they feel like they can roster at this point.
Stories by Hawk, "Who is better, Landon Robinson, Chris Jenkins, or BJ Hill?"
probably BJ Hill still.
I mean, we just haven't really seen him, obviously because he's been hurt, and he was going through warmups today knowing that he wasn't gonna play, but that's just part of him, you know, kind of coming back from injury and everything like that.
But BJ Hill's still the better player at this point.
And, yeah, that's, that's not really a, a debate.
I think the, the closer question is between Robinson, Chris Jenkins, and McKinley Jackson, and I would probably honestly just have Robinson over all those guys just because I trust one of them to win as a pass rusher, and I trust one of their athleticism to translate into pass rushing production, and that's Robinson.
So I would roll the dice with him for sure.
Michael Kane, "I would trade Yoshi before Tinsley."
It's tough, because yes, you want more for, from Yoshi as a receiver, but he is a really good blocker, and I think he does follow the rules that the Bengals have for the wide receiver three.
I, I do think that they want to see what he can do in a contract year and if that is, like, a motivating factor for him, if he can really just lock in and play for that next contract knowing that he doesn't have a future here because they've invested so much, capital in the receiver room, and b- just because they're just proven to be able to churn out quality receivers for a very low investment.
I, I think that Yoshi is here, and him not playing in this game was an indication that they're not, like, really pressed about, like, him in his role at, at all.
Like, this is just about if Colby Young can step up if he needs to.
This is about Dante Myers, can he step up if he needs to?
It was more about those guys getting more opportunities, and Yoshi's just kind of established right now as wide receiver number three.
But I understand the logic, obviously, because again, if you feel like you can get equal production from those guys and you can get something for Yoshi in a trade, then you should definitely entertain that.
But I don't know if the Bengals w- would be willing to do that, with him specifically.
"Do you think the Bengals make a splash move before the season starts?"
Yeah, this is just kind of what we're talking about right now.
Like, I, I, I do think that left tackle is their biggest issue behind Orlando Brown.
Like, they just don't have a, a set answer there.
And it's good to be talking about that because we're not talking about the, the other, like, potential deficiencies of this team because they played really well tonight.
Like, I, I thought even the f- second team defense when they, you know, stopped Caleb William- Williams and the first team Bears offense from scoring or a touchdown on their first drive, I thought they held up well, and like, the pass rush did enough, and they made enough plays in coverage.
So like, I, I thought it was a well-coached and, and a well-performed game for really both sides of the ball, and we're just talking about, like, if, if, if this one issue can be resolved before the season begins, and you feel really g- you feel really good, you feel really good about the state of this team.
And that's just the one area that I can't look away from right now, and that's where if they were to make a splash move, that's probably where that splash move comes from.
Some other odds and ends from the game.
I thought Cedric Johnson came in with some pressure, specifically on a third down, forces, forced a throw away.
He's a guy that I think has been under the radar because of how well Cassius Howell has played.
He did not play in this game.
Apparently, like, he was either, like, a healthy scratch or, like, he just wasn't going to risk injury, but maybe he kind of tweaked something during the joint practice.
We're gonna find out more about that.
I believe Zach Taylor is talking right now, and we'll probably have something up on that on azsports.com here in a little bit.
Josh Newton didn't have the best game.
I, I thought really there were some members of the secondary that just weren't, up to task in this one, so it kind of seems like the momentum with Josh Newton has died down a little bit.
Probably the same, w- when you're talking about some of the backup safeties as well.
I thought Daijahn Anthony didn't necessarily play well, and that's probably not a comp- a real competition if you're talking about him as a sixth-round pick only a handful of years ago.
PJ Jules, Rusty Euster probably in that head-to-head battle to, to be the last safety on the team.
Michael Caine, "Cut downs are gonna be a nightmare."
And that's what you kind of want, right?
That, that's, that's the goal ultimately.
You want these decisions to be really hard, and you don't want there to be a ton of decisions because you want guys, like, locked in, and you want to feel comfortable about them i, i- in a situation in which, like, yes, like, these guys are worth making the team and there's no one else who is, like, you know- I think the less decisions that you have like that, the better.
But I do think that they're in, in a sense of like, you want guys to be pushing each other in some spots, I think.
So it's a good balance I think the Bengals have.
And I think, yes, there are, there are gonna be tough decisions at a couple of spots, but you're not feeling like, oh, like you're trying to decide who is going to be the shiniest of turds at some very important backup spots.
I, I feel like there's just really one spot on the Bengals roster where it's like that, and it's probably behind both the tackle spots.
Where was Braelon Lux?
He was on the field for a handful of snaps.
I, I know he had pretty key coverage on a, on a third down.
I think he came away with, with, with a stop there.
But yeah, it doesn't seem like he is really in the mix to not only start, but I, I feel like he's well behind Jasir Taylor as the backup slot cornerback right now.
So he might not be in the equation as much as we would've thought.
In terms of just overall stats and w- and performances, again, like Landon Robinson, Cedric Johnson came away with the most pressures.
Isaiah Foskey also came away with a couple of hurries as well.
I think with Shamar Stewart still out for the time being, it's not impossible to say that he maybe have, maybe he has the inside track to be the last defensive lineman to make the team, and maybe that's like a short-term solution if Shamar Stewart still needs like a week or two before he's fully able to go.
But I would expect Foskey to be on the practice squad.
He's played a ton, and he's played well in his limited chances.
Liam Anderson almost got a sack.
He came firing out of the gun, up the A-gap there on, on that blitz at linebacker, but there were also some, some rough moments in run defense.
So he's a guy that I, I think is probably practice squad material as well.
And finally, Matthew McDoom in his debut, if you guys don't know, he was the quarterback signed when Sierra Wright left the team to pursue acting, and he has a lead role that he's preparing for in October.
But Matthew McDoom, former Bearcat, played 11 snaps and came away with one of the highest grades on defense for the Bengals.
So good for Matthew McDoom.
Sam Turner, "What's up, John?"
Nothing much, man.
Just, just chilling.
Just talking Bengals.
Thank you to Chi Town Tiener for $4.99.
"Yoshi's stock is at his highest.
Move him now.
Lando better than MKJ and KJ Jr." I don't know if Yoshi's stock is at his highest, to be honest with you.
Like, I mean, he's a starter, and he's established in the offense, but I think last year was not his best year, and his stock is probably gonna be a little bit higher maybe next year, this time next year, if he locks in in the contract year.
So, again, like the Bengals aren't necessarily the best team to always get ahead and get the most value for their guys if they know they're not gonna be around long term.
It would make sense to trade Yoshi.
I don't j- I just don't know if his stock is necessarily at its highest.
If they can get a g- if they can get a decent return, if they can get a quality backup offensive lineman for Andre Osiboha, I would definitely entertain it.
But I, I think the Bengals would want his stock to be a little bit higher than it is right now.
But we've gone over 20 minutes.
I think we covered enough bases.
Again, it was a really good game, I thought, from the Bengals backups.
You don't often see the Bengals kind of cruise through a, a, a preseason matchup like this.
But now the Bengals are guaranteed to have a winning record in the preseason for the first time in the Zach Taylor era.
Again, I don't know if it translates to anything r- in the regular season, but for a team that has historically started not at its best in September, it's better than nothing, right?
But that's gonna do it for the stream.
Again, I'm John Sheeran of A to Z Sports Cincinnati.
We'll be back this time next week to recap the Bengals' third and final preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles leading up to final cuts.
Final cuts, again, are gonna be at 6:00 PM on Sunday this year following the last preseason game.
Usually it's been on Tuesdays, but now the NFL's getting ahead of that by about two days.
But like you guys were talking about, it's gonna be a lot of tough decisions for the Bengals.
I think for the most part, the roster's solidified, and maybe there are a couple of guys that really did win some jobs tonight, but there's still gonna be some guys who are playing for their roster lives on Friday night in Philadelphia.
But that's gonna do it for us.
I'm John Sheeran.
We'll see you next time.
