Cincinnati Bengals veterans report to training camp in less than a week, and accompanying them will be nothing short of Super Bowl expectations. Fans are longing for a return trip to the playoffs after a three-year absence. Make no mistake, though: a one-and-done Marvin Lewis era effort won't be good enough.
Superstar quarterback Joe Burrow will report to camp fully healthy for the second time in a row. As long as he's on the field, the Lombardi Trophy is the primary objective.
But as we've seen throughout his career, Burrow can't do it alone. The new look defense must step up to uphold their end of the bargain. A couple camp storylines in particular revolve around just that. The main event of camp, however, will be something of an indication as to how good this Bengals team is before Week 1.
Can the Bengals get DJ Turner's contract extension done?
In a perfect world, DJ Turner’s contract extension would be done yesterday. Alas, that is not how the Bengals tend to do business.
Cincinnati’s brass has been content in years past to let the likes of Tee Higgins and Trey Hendrickson not get paid to the point of them both resorting to trade requests. Shoot, even Ja’Marr Chase had to wait a full Triple Crown season before he got his big payday.
Both Chase and Hendrickson reported to camp during their contracts spats and held in. They didn't practice. I don't envision that scenario playing out with Turner, because at least for this offseason, the front office at least has some justification for the contract delay.
Because the team spent so much money to upgrade their maligned defense, it put Turner's negotiations on the back burner. Now that a fuller salary cap picture for the coming years is in focus, Turner should be rewarded in short order.
The last thing the Bengals need in this highly anticipated camp, before what should be an electrifying 2026 campaign, is yet another contract dispute with a star player. Turner is an All-Pro caliber cover cornerback who won't command a true top-market deal. Getting him locked in ASAP for years to come should be a no-brainer.
Will Boye Mafe flash the potential to be a legitimate DE1?
Perhaps lost a bit in the excitement about the Dexter Lawrence trade and other intriguing acquisitions, Seattle Seahawks Super Bowl champion Boye Mafe was actually the Bengals' highest-paid new free agent. Mafe is on a three-year $60 million deal, and Cincinnati is counting on him to be a Pro Bowl-worthy piece (by the old definition of Pro Bowl) of the defensive puzzle.
Can Mafe live up to the hype? Whichever side of the field he aligns on, he'll have to take reps against either Orlando Brown Jr. and Amarius Mims in camp practices. Brown is a massive, savvy veteran, while Mims is one of the NFL's ascending young offensive lineman.
Bengals defensive coordinator Al Golden figures to work Mafe into the mix at his Viper position, which rookie second-round pick Cashius Howell is also training for. The idea is for this to be a hybrid defender who can scream in off the edge as a pass rusher, set the edge versus the run, and drop in coverage as an off-ball linebacker type.
There's no question Mafe has the athleticism to do this. He's also a proven pass rusher with nine sacks in his second NFL season back in 2023. Still, he was a rotational player in Seattle, so it remains to be seen if he's more like an above-average starter, or if he is indeed a game-changer for Cincinnati’s defensive front.
I know my eyes will be all over Mafe once training camp opens. I've wanted him since the 2022 draft. I'm quite confident he'll live up to his lucrative contract, yet there is still quite a bit of unknown there with him.
All the buzz coming out of joint practice with the Chicago Bears
The Bears were only three points away from beating the Rams and punching a ticket to the NFC Championship Game last postseason. Caleb Williams orchestrated a bunch of miraculous comebacks, including one. that defied all logic on Wild Card Weekend against Green Bay.
Williams has all the makings of the next superstar quarterback in Chicago. His unique athleticism, ridiculous arm talent, and his privilege of being coached by Ben Johnson could result in him emerging as a legitimate top-five quarterback in 2026.
Unlike the games in the preseason, where it's a lot of backups fighting for roster spots, joint practices will give us a real glimpse into where the Bengals are at in relation to the Bears.
There will be plenty of buzz to monitor coming out of these sessions, and we should get a decent idea of what to expect from the Bengals defensively. Or at least where they stand not long before the regular season kicks off.
Let’s hope, too, that the scuttlebutt from Bears-Bengals practices includes Burrow and the offense absolutely shredding Chicago.
I would typically anticipate such a thing for Burrow and Co. when facing any given foe. It’s just that Cincinnati struggling to start off the year is an annual tradition under Zac Taylor. Any signs of life on that front would be a most welcome potential sign of progress.
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