8 Bengals who will need a dominant training camp in 2022

3. Alex Cappa

Alex Cappa needs to show he will do the same as he did in Tampa Bay protecting Burrow as he did Tom Brady. Cappa was also brought in to strengthen both the pass blocking and run blocking of the new look Bengals’ offensive line.

During his 1182 snaps played last season he received a PFF grade of 73.4 while giving up five sacks during this time. He is arguably one of the toughest players on the Bengals roster as he played with a broken arm while also attempting to stay in the game with a broken leg.

The big question for Cappa is will he be able to stay healthy during training camp and the regular season. He has struggled with injuries quite often these past few years. Along with this is the fact he has been sidelined this offseason already with a core injury that is expected to take him out for a couple of weeks.

He is slated as one of the starting guards alongside Jackson Carman for this upcoming year. This being said he has to prove that he is worth the 40 million dollar deal the Bengals gave him this past year.

2. Ted Karras

The newly-signed Ted Karras needs to prove to everyone why he deserves to start at center because the team spent big money to bring him in from New England. Karras was a solid piece to the Patriots’ o-line but played guard for the majority of the year there.

Karras had an overall PFF grade of 72.8 in 829 offensive snaps last year. During these snaps, he only allowed a total of three sacks over the whole year. Although he was mostly used at the guard position in New England, he has the skill to be a master chess piece in the Bengals’ offense where he will most likely start at the center position.

Due to the switch of positions, his training camp will be used for him to identify the system in Cincinnati while almost having to relearn how to be the man to identify the blitzers coming from the defensive side. This is a key job of the center due to the fact he has to alert his fellow linemates for blocking coverage.