CINCINNATI – Just two days in, the dog days of training camp have arrived for the Cincinnati Bengals.
Cornerback Josh Newton puked a couple of times, defensive end Myles Murphy left practice on a cart to get an IV and wide receiver Tee Higgins felt some cramping and had a trainer stretch him on the sideline as the temperature rose to 89 degrees for the morning practice.
The Bengals pulled Higgins from practice purely for precautionary reasons. He said afterward he’s fine.
Tee Higgins is 100% fine and healthy. Just got stretched out. He could’ve returned. Myles Murphy got an IV. It was a hot practice. Both guys are fine.
— James Rapien (@JamesRapien) July 24, 2025
There even was a mild dustup that didn’t rise to the level of a fight but did feature a helmet being ripped off after a running play by the third-team offense against the third-team defense.
The helmet belonged to undrafted rookie defensive tackle Howard Cross III, but it was unclear who yanked it from his head.
Unlike Wednesday’s first practice, Thursday’s session went the full two hours despite the heat.
“Everyone had to dig deep today,” center Ted Karras said. “I ran a lot this summer. There’s nothing that’s going to get you ready for a six-, seven-play drive in the heat the first two days. I thought we did a good job of not getting sloppy with the play. You really have to dig down out there.”
Friday will mark the only time during training camp the Bengals practice three days in a row. Beginning Sunday, they will follow a two days on, one day off schedule.
“The sole purpose really for our two days on, one day off philosophy is to minimize those soft tissue injuries,” head coach Zac Taylor said. “Our players will respond well to that. We’ll be on top of it. You can’t prevent everything. There are things that are going to happen, that’s football. I think we do as good a job as anybody in making sure we can prevent that.”
Play of the Day
Everyone knew it was coming, but the defense still couldn’t stop it.
After Joe Burrow’s self-proclaimed poor performance by himself and the offense on Wednesday, he came out firing Tuesday, throwing a go ball for Higgins on the first snap of 11-on-11.
They didn’t connect, as cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt had great coverage and prevented the catch.
On the offense’s second series of reps in 11s, Burrow went deep again, this time using play-action to get cornerback DJ Turner II to bite on the fake while Higgins past him.
Burrow hit Higgins in stride for a long touchdown.
The Bengals’ offense is off to a great start today. Joe Burrow finds Tee Higgins DEEP for the touchdown🏈 pic.twitter.com/o515TwZbqM
— James Rapien (@JamesRapien) July 24, 2025
“The first day we didn’t really have much of the offense, really just the basics,” Chase said. “I want to say today, we got a little bit more to offense, a lot more motion and a lot more disguise, how disguise looks with more setup schemes.”
Even with the simple call sheet Wednesday, there still were some missed throws, dropped passes and other issues.
“We had a better day than yesterday,” Karras said. “That’s gonna be the sign of a good team is trading off days back and forth. I like how the guys responded.”
Quote of the Day
“I would not put on that many bananas.” – Ja’Marr Chase.
The wide receiver couldn’t stifle his laughter when he spotted CLNS Media reporter Mike “Trags” Petraglia wearing a bucket hat with a bananas print as well as a button-shirt with more bananas.
Chase tried to compose himself and answer Petraglia’s question, but he had questions of his own. And when he found out the reporter bought the get up at Kroger, Chase wrapped a towel around his face to cover this laughter.
It was a fun moment of levity after a scorching sweaty practice.
3 Up
The Run Game
The offensive bounce back didn’t just feature Burrow completing a bunch of passes, several run plays hit for what would have been long gains even if it was action.
Chase Brown, Samaje Perine and Tahj Brooks each had moments bursting through holes or bouncing plays outside and running away from the defense.
Josh Newton
After throwing up on the field a couple of times, Newton spent some time off to the side with trainers resting and rehydrating.
Some players might have tapped out until the evening walk-through, but Newton – who vocalized his burning desire to be great on Wednesday – was back on the field for the final period of 11s.
Isaiah Thomas
The third-year defensive end who played for the Browns in 2022 and the Lions in 2024 made back-to-back splash plays in the final period of 11-on-11 work.
Playing with the third-string, Thomas beat tackle Andrew Coker for what would have been a sack of quarterback Desmond Ridder. Then on the next play he got into the backfield to stop Brooks for a loss.
3 Down
DJ Turner
Only because he gave up the long ball to Higgins. But Turner came back on the next play to break up a back-shoulder attempt by Andrei Iosivas. Later, wide receiver Jermaine Burton caught a 20-yard pass against him along the sideline, but Burton pushed off enough that it would have been called offensive pass interference in a game.
Myles Murphy
It’s always a tough look when a player has to leave practice because of hydration issues.
But on a normal day, Murphy wouldn’t warrant a spot on this list. But it was a pretty solid practice with not a lot of performances worthy of inclusion here.
Hence ..
Foul-Mouthed Fan
Security removed a fan from practice after he yelled an obscenity following Higgins’ long touchdown against Turner.
The fan yelled a Captain Obvious comment to the defense that it shouldn’t let receivers get behind them.
“Because what happens when you do? You’re f—king toast.”
Other fans in the area took exception because of how many kids were around, but the guy didn’t back down, saying they’re going to hear cussing everywhere they go.
The guy then challenged the responsible adults to take it outside, at which point security intervened and removed him.
Attendance
The other difference from Wednesday was that defensive tackle B.J. Hill wasn’t in uniform as part of a planned vet day.
In terms of workload, cornerback Dax Hill’s ramped up as he went from doing only individual drills Wednesday to working in 7-on-7 drills, where he played in the slot.
