On Thursday, the 2023 second-round draft pick strung together several splash plays and enjoyed his best day of camp. Turner recorded at least five pass breakups, including on 1-on-1 matchups with top three receivers Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Andrei Iosivas.
“I had a good day, that’s cool, but I’ve got to be better tomorrow,” Turner said.
Turner was bouncing back from an especially rough practice Wednesday when at one point he was pushed back to the third-team defense.
Bengals coach Zac Taylor said not to read much into the cornerback rotation right now, but DJ Ivey has been getting some first-team reps ahead of Turner at times while Cam Taylor-Britt has been in and out due to work load management.
Taylor-Britt did not practice Thursday but Turner got plenty of chances to shine against the first-team offense. When asked what the difference was, Turner said he’s just trying to stack good plays.
“Just go, attack the day, review and just forget about (yesterday) and do it again,” Turner said. “Go back, review, see what you’ve got to change, see what you’ve got to do better, wake up the next day and do it again.”
Facing some of the best receivers in the league every day in practice isn’t easy, but Turner said it’s good competition that will help better prepare him for what he will see during the season.
At least two of his pass breakups were against Chase on Thursday, and he had another one against Higgins to end practice.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
“I’m not going to see better in games, I’m not, so it helps all of us,” Turner said. “It doesn’t matter who we are playing, I’m not going to see better, so it makes all of us on the back end, the whole defense better.”
When all of the defensive backs have been available, Turner, Taylor-Britt, Josh Newton, Dax Hill and Ivey have all gotten first-team reps. Newton and Hill have played some nickel corner but also have been outside, as defensive coordinator Al Golden wants to build depth through versatility.
A seventh-round pick in 2023, Ivey is in the mix for one of the backup outside cornerback spots and has made some big plays in what is just his second training camp going into Year 3.
Ivey tore his ACL in Game 14 of his rookie season against Minnesota and missed the final three contests, then started the 2024 campaign on injured reserve. He missed all of training camp and wasn’t cleared to practice until early October, but appeared in the final 11 games.
Most of that action came on special teams but he played 8 percent of the defensive snaps at the end of the season when both Hill and Turner were out and allowed just one completion on five targets.
“I was just excited to play,” Ivey said. “I never felt like I was playing catchup because I was obviously learning while I was injured, so it was just getting back into the groove of things, getting back into football shape, getting my body ready to hit, stuff like that, so that was the biggest part for me.”
Now Ivey is enjoying a chance to go through a full offseason and training camp to make his case for a roster spot and playing time in 2025. He’s part of a defensive backs group that were all on the roster last year but seeking to prove themselves better.
“As the days go on, we keep making continuous plays on the ball, so we’re getting comfortable with the defense and keep moving forward,” Ivey said. “We all push each other to strive to be better, push each other to make plays on the ball to get better. We all want to see each other succeed, we celebrate each other and it’s a brotherhood.”
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