Bengals News (7/11): Evan McPherson lands important ring

Bengals: Evan McPherson marries longtime girlfriend
McPherson got drafted by the Bengals last year, went on to have a stellar rookie season and then didn’t miss a field goal attempt in the playoffs while being a big part of the reason the team made the Super Bowl.

Cincinnati Bengals QB Joe Burrow 'Preparing For Invaders' While Training in California
Burrow is the reigning Comeback Player of the Year. He threw for a Bengals record 4,611 yards and 34 touchdowns last season, helping Cincinnati win the AFC Championship for the first time since 1988.

Bengals' Tyler Boyd: Comfortable in offense
Coming off a Super Bowl loss, Boyd and RB Joe Mixon enter their fourth year in Taylor's system, while Burrow and WR Tee Higgins are in Year 3 and Ja'Marr Chase in Year 2. The Bengals do have three new starters on the O-line, but it shouldn't be too difficult of an adjustment with each of the three having at least 46 NFL starts to his name. While efficient last season with a 71.3 percent catch rate and 8.8 YPT in a breakout year for the rest of the Bengals offense, Boyd saw his fewest targets (94) since 2017, ending a three-year streak with triple digits. He does have some chance to get back over the century mark this year, but there's almost no chance of a return to his 2018-19 level of around 8-to-9 targets per game and 1,000-plus yards per season. Boyd's upside scenario for fantasy involves Chase and/or Higgins missing extended time.

Bengals and Jessie Bates enter last chance to hammer out a deal
With less than a week away from the deadline, it seems less and less likely that Bates will get a contract extension before the 2022 season. The Bengals placed a franchise tag on Bates earlier this summer but Bates has yet to sign the tag, which would pay him $12.9 million in fully guaranteed money this year.

Bengals: Chidobe Awuzie claims title of best chess player in NFL
Chess.com recently ran a tournament called BlitzChamps, an event where six NFL players, including Awuzie, competed for $100,000 for charity, with the winner taking $25,000. The rest of the field included future Hall of Fame wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, New York Giants edge defender Kayvon Thibodeaux, Browns wide receiver Amari Cooper, Miami Dolphins cornerback Will Davis and San Francisco 49ers defensive lineman Arik Armstead.

NFL Insider 'Very Bullish' on Joe Burrow and Cincinnati Bengals Following Offseason Additions
The Bengals finished 10-7 last season, before winning the AFC Championship. They added three starting offensive linemen and key pieces on defense in the draft. Those additions have Schrager excited about the possibility of Joe Burrow, Ja'Marr Chase and company making it back to the big game.

4 most underappreciated players in Bengals history
The Cincinnati Bengals have many great players that have gone underappreciated both due to the overall team’s success and the personalities they held on and off the field. This list dives into four players that did great things for the team but goes mostly under the radar even with seasons of outstanding numbers.

Around the league

Jimmy Garoppolo's agent says QB 'on schedule' in shoulder rehab
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported Monday morning that the expectation within the NFL continues to be that Garoppolo is traded by the end of the month. Pelissero also reached out to Garoppolo's agent, Don Yee, regarding the quarterback's status, shoulder rehab, and recent trade rumors.

Lamar Jackson denies 'I Need $' picture is a message to Ravens amid contract negotiations
Jackson changed his Instagram profile photo and Twitter header to a picture of a gold grill engraved with the phrase "I Need $", which many thought could be a message to the Ravens amid his ongoing contract negotiations with the team. But with the theories of what this might mean running rampant, the 25-year-old spoke to Safid Deen of USA Today to clear the air, claiming that the pictures had nothing to do with his contract discussions.

Lions' Michael Brockers: 'It's going to be scary to see us in the future'
"(Opponents) knew we were coming the whole 60 minutes of the game," Brockers recently told Aaron Wilson of Pro Football Network. "So that's what I love about being here. You just see it. It's generated that enthusiasm to be in Detroit, to play for Detroit, to be a Lion. You're seeing it, starting with the younger guys... We have a team full of young guys who are buying into the system, and it's going to be scary to see us in the future."

2022 NFL season: Predicting each NFC team's non-QB MVP
The last non-QB to win the award was Adrian Peterson in 2012, and it took a 2,097-yard performance. Signal-callers have won 14 of the past 15 MVPs and 19 of 23 since the turn of the millennium. Zero WRs, TEs, O-linemen, off-ball linebackers or DBs have ever won the award. (We see you, kicker Mark Moseley.)