5 takeaways from Day 2 of Bengals training camp

The Bengals opened up their second day of training camp on Sunday, and they were back in familiar territory. This seemed like a welcome change after reports surfaced of some Bengals being unhappy with conditions for their Dayton practice.

This was new head coach Zac Taylor’s first training camp practice back at home with the team. Unfortunately, it was clouded with some bad news.

Some bad news regarding A.J. Green

Green’s injury has been quite the roller coaster considering it has only been about 24 hours. Reports have finally come out that Green is likely to miss 6-8 weeks with ligament damage in his ankle.

Considering that this whole thing started with Green being very visibly upset and carted off the practice field, this outcome is far from the worst case. However, with many starting to report it looking like the Bengals and Green had dodged a bullet, it certainly comes off as more disappointing.

Week 1 against Seattle is six weeks away, so Green will likely miss at least one regular season game.

Filling Green’s void

It is safe to say that most NFL rosters don’t have two receivers of Green’s caliber, so replacing him isn’t going to be easy. Fans should expect a ton of receivers being rotated into the starting lineup.

Auden Tate and Josh Malone seem like the two receivers most likely to fill Green’s spot in the starting lineup. Both are guys who aren’t all-around receivers, but each has a trait that makes them stand out.

Tate is a big bodied receiver who is known for making contested grabs, which at the very least will help in the red zone, but he could also be a valuable possession receiver on third downs. Malone has blazing speed that the past coaching staff had trouble utilizing properly. With a more imaginative offensive staff, Malone could do some damage.

Cody Core also saw some time with the first team offense. It will be interesting to see if Core can translate whatever made the past offensive coaches believe he was more than a special teamer to the field under Taylor’s offense.

Fans also shouldn’t forget that right now the team also has a healthy Tyler Eifert. Who, despite being listed as a tight end, will likely spend plenty of time split out wide catching passes.

Darius Phillips activated and may see more returner snaps

Darius Phillips was the only player to return from injury today. The second-year cornerback also saw time at a very special spot during practice.

It is becoming the worst kept secret that this new coaching staff loves Alex Erickson as a receiver in their offense, and it may be a matter of time before they have him focusing on that side of the ball.

Phillips was a pretty efficient returner at Western Michigan where he had six return touchdowns over his four years. The Bengals won’t just pull Erickson from his returning spot without a suitable replacement, and Phillips could end up proving to be a guy who can handle some of those responsibilities.

John Ross and Billy Price miss second-straight practice

Ross was out at practice, but for a second straight day, he wasn’t participating.

Taylor has also stated Ross’ injury isn’t anything long-term. It isn’t time to start hitting the panic button quite yet with Ross. It isn’t uncommon for players to miss some time at the start of camp on the NFI list.

As for Price, we still don’t have a ton of details as to what his injury is, but he was seen riding a stationary bike during practice.

John Jerry still has early lead on Christian Westerman

Jerry remains to still have the first shot with the first team offense at left guard. It isn’t clear how much of a shot Westerman got, but at this point the coaching staff hasn’t mixed up the opening offensive line.

This hopefully isn’t an indication on how the competition will work going forward. Training camp is more of a marathon than a sprint, so as long as Westerman gets a fair shake at the job eventually this shouldn’t be an issue.