CINCINNATI – Just when wide receiver Charlie Jones thought he was going to be healthy for the start of the Cincinnati Bengals offseason, he was hit with more bad news.
But several months and two surgeries later, Jones is putting together an impressive training camp that could lead to him filling three key roles for the Bengals.
Last week offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher praised Jones, who missed six games as a rookie in 2023 with a broken thumb and the final nine games last year due to a groin injury, for having his “best sustained period of play” since joining the team.
“My mindset has really been just staying healthy,” Jones said. “That’s been my biggest knock since I got in the league. I’m feeling healthy and making sure that when I’m in there, I’m someone they can trust no matter where I’m at to make a play.”
There have been a lot of them made throughout camp, including several in each of the last two practices.
Jones, aka Chuck Sizzle, had one of the best plays of the day Friday when he made a midflight adjustment to a Jake Browning deep ball and caught it over his shoulder for a long gain.
Saturday, he pulled in another long pass from Browning and took the biggest shot of training camp when safety PJ Jules ill-advisedly blasted him near the sideline.
Jones, who wasn’t expecting to get hit like that in a non-contact drill, held on to the ball, hopped to his feet and jogged away without saying a word while Jules’ defensive teammates urged him to be smarter.
To see Jones brush off the hit and keep going was one of the most encouraging signs in a camp full of them.
“When the ball’s going to him, he’s making plays,” Pitcher said. “He can do a variety of things for us, and he’s been around a long time. He understands the offense. So I’m happy with what we’re seeing from Chuck.”
When OTAs began, Jones wasn’t practicing, which was surprising given that the groin injury that ended his season occurred in late October.
After Friday’s practice, Jones detailed the double surgeries that forced his slow start to 2025.
The first procedure was to fix a sports hernia related to the groin injury as soon as the season ended.
He stayed in Cincinnati to recover and eventually went to Atlanta for offseason workouts with receiver coach Drew Lieberman, who also works with Chase Brown and Andrei Iosivas, but Jones wasn’t getting any better.
“I was stressed,” Jones said. “It was frustrating all year, but I was like, ‘at least I’ll get it done after the year and giving it time.’ But there was just little things not going well. When I was in Atlanta, I couldn’t even get out of my stance without pain.
“I knew I had OTAs come up soon, and you want to be out there working in the offseason,” he added. “Your clock is ticking a little bit in your head. There were still things to get fixed, and I had time. So don’t push it and let’s get the surgery and whatever I need.”
Two weeks before OTAs began in April, Jones flew to Los Angeles to see a doctor, but he said he didn’t feel comfortable with him.
A flight to Houston followed, and Jones had nerve surgery on his oblique.
“Being able to finally run without pain was amazing,” Jones said.
He eventually worked his way back into drills in OTAs and has been a solid performer in camp, both as a receiver and punt and kickoff returner.
Jones caught three passes for 41 yards, including a 21-yarder on a first-and-20 play, in the preseason opener against the Eagles.
“Charlie’s done some really positive things for us this camp,” head coach Zac Taylor said. “He’s shown up and made some plays for us. In that backup role, you need to be able to play all three spots and have knowledge there. That’s something he’s always working on with (receivers coach Troy Walters) and making sure he’s dependable in that area.
“Made a great play (Friday), had a big play down the field, contested play, corner route, underneath coverage,” Taylor added. “Those are tough catches to make. I think he’s shown some really strong flashes in his game.”
Jones didn’t return any punts or kickoffs, but he’s the leading candidate to win both of those jobs with Jermaine Burton missing time this week with an undisclosed injury and Isaiah Williams seeing his receiver reps diminish in practice.
While his thumb injury came on a punt return in 2023 and the groin injury happened on a kickoff return last year, Jones made it clear he’s gunning to be the guy to win those jobs in addition as well as a trusted spot in the wide receiver room.
“I’m expecting to be out there,” he said. “It’s something I care about. I want to be back there. I think I can really help this team. I can have an impact and help this team win games when I’m back returning.”
Jones is one of two Bengals players in franchise history to return both a kickoff and a punt for a touchdown.
The punt return touchdown came in his second career game, an 81-yarder against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2 of 2023.
The kick return score came the week before his injury last year and could have contributed to it as he made an awkward hop and lunge for the goal line to finish off a 100-yarder against the Browns on the game’s first play.
The only other Bengals player to return both a kickoff and punt for a touchdown is newly inducted Ring of Honor member Lemar Parrish, who had four TDs on punts and one on a kickoff.
Jones typically is one of the last players off the field after practice, and that was the case again Friday despite making two big catches.
“Every day I’ve been staying out there on the JUGS or working with (Iosivas) or (Walters) doing release work. I’m just trying to work on both things that are going to help me down the line. A lot of days we don’t have a ton of time at practice to work on the things that I specifically need, so you’ve got to get it in at some point.”
What he really needs is a little luck to stay healthy.
He’ll take it, of course. But he isn’t relying on it.
“I’m really just praying for health, but also taking care of my body,” Jones said. “What you do outside the building, how you recover, that’s really half the battle. I’m making sure I’m staying in the training room even if I’ve got nothing going on, just staying on top of little things that could creep up. I’m getting in the red light and the cold tubs and all that stuff. Just being a pro with how you go about your day after you’re in the building.”
“It’s been tough,” he added. “I’ve been trying to get going, then I get going and then I’m out. Just being available now has allowed me to stack days and build that confidence.”
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