Bengals News (11/13): All eyes on linebackers

Quick Hits: Bengals linebackers in the spotlight after latest transaction.
In his 80th NFL game Brown played a season-low 38 percent of the snaps while third-round pick Germaine Pratt worked a career-high 49 percent in a game Brown was beat on Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson’s 17-yard touchdown pass to tight end Mark Andrews. After the game profootballfocus.com had Brown rated as 135 out of the league’s 160 backers.

Vote for your favorite Bengals players to the 2020 Pro Bowl.
Fans will also have the chance to vote on Twitter beginning Nov. 28 with voting on the final 48 hours via Twitter will count as double. To cast such a vote, fans should tweet the first and last name of the player, the player's official Twitter handle, or a hashtag including the player's first and last name. All three of these methods must include the hashtag: #ProBowlVote.

Game Preview: Cincinnati Bengals at Oakland Raiders, November 17,2019 | Week 11
The Baltimore game marked the first start in the career of QB Ryan Finley, a rookie fourth-round pick who took over as Cincinnati’s starter during the team’s Week 9 bye. Finley drew positive reviews for much of his performance, which featured 16 completions in 30 attempts for 167 yards and a TD pass. But he also had two costly mistakes — an INT that was returned 89 yards for a TD, and a lost fumble that was returned 33 yards for a score.

Bengals waive linebacker Preston Brown
Brown, a sixth-year player, was in his second season with the Bengals after joining the team as an unrestricted free agent in 2018. He had played in all nine games this season, with eight starts, and posted 52 tackles, a forced fumble and fumble recovery.

Bengals release LB Preston Brown
Brown, who was waived two days after he was replaced by rookie Germaine Pratt in the starting lineup, had started Cincinnati's first eight games before coming off the bench during Sunday's loss to Baltimore.

2020 NFL draft heat check: Tua Tagovailoa or Joe Burrow for Bengals?
While Ryan Finley still has plenty of time to show he can be the player of the future for the Bengals under center, it has always seemed like he wouldn’t do enough to nudge the front office toward a Chase Young on draft day.

2020 NFL Mock Draft: Joe Burrow to the Bengals
The Bengals appear ready to move on from Andy Dalton, who was benched after their bye for fourth-round rookie Ryan Finley. While Dalton has one more year on his contract, there is no cap hit to release him this offseason. Assuming they hang on to the first overall pick, the team will begin a new era with either Burrow or Alabama’s Tua Tagovailoa.

Focus on Cincinnati: 'I can't believe how bad the Bengals are' says ex-Raider
The Ravens mercifully dialed things down Sunday after becoming the first team in Cincinnati’s 51-year existence to score at least 49 points through three quarters. Defensive end Carlos Dunlap used two words in summing up the game for Cincinnati’s Fox19 TV, calling the loss “disgusting” and “embarrassing.”

Around the league

NFL arranges workout for Colin Kaepernick in Atlanta
Several teams have inquired to Kaepernick's readiness to play football, and Kaepernick and his representatives have expressed his desire to return to the NFL. The league has discussed possible steps with Kaepernick's camp, which emphasized that he is ready to work out for and be interviewed by NFL teams.

Jags 'confident' Nick Foles can upgrade Minshew Mania
"It's like riding a bicycle," wide receiver D.J. Chark said. "As long as you are doing your job, you can bet Nick is going to do his job. As long as you are getting open, the ball is going to be in the spot to just catch it. That's pretty much it."

Brissett: Reich sat me 'to protect myself from myself'
"I felt like I was getting better each day," Brissett said Tuesday, via the Indy Star. "It was a coach's decision. He made the decision that he thought was best for myself and for the team. It's his job, I guess, to protect myself from myself."

Heads or tails? Geno Smith's coin-toss call confuses
And yet, with the direction of Monday night's meeting with the San Francisco 49ers hanging in the balance, Seattle selected Smith to call the all-important overtime coin toss. It was the second time in as many weeks that Smith, a seventh-year quarterback on his fourth team, had been selected to do the honors. Could he get the call right again?