There isn’t a player on the entire Cincinnati Bengals roster who has had a worse day of practice during Bengals training camp than rookie offensive tackle D’Ante Smith did on Tuesday.
In the first day of padded practices, Smith matched up against starting defensive end Sam Hubbard. On nearly every snap, Hubbard used a different pass rush move to get past Smith. Because Hubbard was so disruptive, and because Smith struggled blocking him, the Bengals offense couldn't create an explosive play.
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And yet four days later, Smith was back with the first team offense. And he was playing guard, a position that the Bengals' fourth round pick has hardly played in his entire football career.
“Day one was a lesson that you can’t always be in a rush against everything,” Smith said. “Guys who have been in the league can tell when you’re under a rush. You’ve got to lean on your fundamentals.”
Smith heard that message from the coaching staff and from his teammates after practice on Tuesday. He picked it up, and he was rewarded for that on Saturday.
While the Bengals are set at offensive tackle with Jonah Williams and Riley Reiff, offensive guard remains the most wide-open position battle in camp. In the first week of padded practices, rookie Jackson Carman and third-year player Michael Jordan have taken the most first-team reps at guard.
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Veterans Xavier Su’a-Filo and Quinton Spain, who is day-to-day with a minor injury, are the favorites to be the Week 1 starters but have played with the second unit during camp. And then there’s Smith, who had one of the best blocks of camp by throwing a defensive tackle to the ground on Saturday.
According to Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said there isn’t a timeline for setting the Week 1 starters.
“These (preseason) games are going to show us a lot because we're not on the field coaching them,” Taylor said. “They've got to be able to make the adjustments. So really, I kind of reserve the right to not speak too much leading up to these games because they'll give us more information and then we can make better decisions going forward.”
Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan said Su’a-Filo has looked like a veteran with his leadership and his “savviness” on the field. Su’a-Filo is known for his ability to not make mistakes, which is a part of the reason the Bengals made him their highest paid offensive guard.
Spain hasn’t been able to practice consistently during padded practices due to an undisclosed minor injury, but he was the Bengals best offensive guard last season.
Carman, a rookie from Clemson, hasn’t been as consistent as Su’a-Filo and Spain have been. In one practice, he was pulled from the first team offensive line after committing back to back false starts.
“Jackson's a young player, and he's learning every day,” Callahan said. “He's making plenty of mistakes. But he's learning from them, and the goal is to not make them again. We try to preach to our guys that you don't make the same mistake twice.”
Just like with Carman, Taylor said Jordan needs to be more consistent. Jordan started the first nine Bengals games he was active for last season, but he lost his starting spot at the end of the season.
“He has got a lot of ability, and it shows,” Taylor said. “I think he's going to continue to come along. I'm always excited about Mike's potential and the approach. There's been some really good things that he's put on tape. Just got to keep being consistent with that.”
After Smith’s practice on Saturday, he’s also now in the mix at offensive guard.
“He is physical,” Taylor said. “He has got the right intangibles. He's a smart football player. And he takes the coaching and makes himself better. So, he takes the coaching from a week ago, he takes the coaching from a day ago, and he uses that to become a better player each day, and you reward that. And so he ran in there with the ones and did a great job.”
BURROW’S PRESEASON: Taylor ruled quarterback Joe Burrow out for the first preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Burrow had a strong practice on Saturday, but he’ll be given more time to get ready for the season. Taylor said he hasn’t determined whether Burrow will play at all in the preseason.
“We do have a general idea of how we see it unfolding for all three games,” Taylor said. “But right now, the firm decisions have been what we're going to do preseason Game 1.”
INJURY UPDATES: Starting defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi, the Bengals best interior pass rusher, hasn’t practiced yet with a hamstring injury.
Taylor said Ogunjobi is “progressing along,” and Ogunjobi has started working on pass rush moves on the rehab field.
“I wouldn't be surprised if we see him this week” Taylor said. “We have the day off tomorrow. Today is more of a special teams emphasis, tomorrow's a day off. And then we got a three-day stretch before we go play Tampa, so the plan would be to try to get him back and do some work during those three days.”
According to Taylor, cornerback Trae Waynes (hamstring) and Spain could also return to practice on Tuesday. Offensive tackle Fred Johnson has missed training camp with a quad injury, and Taylor said he’ll be out at least another week.
Linebacker Markus Bailey was carted off the field on Saturday due to the heat. Aside from that, Bailey has impressed during camp.
“All those young linebackers, you can just see the trajectory that they're on that we always expected and that's been great,” Taylor said.
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