TD for TB
Tyler Boyd had the play of the day and, arguably, the play of camp.
During an 11-on-11 drill in the red zone with 20 minutes left in what had been a lethargic practice, Boyd out-jumped perfectly position cornerback Darqueze Dennard to snag a touchdown from Andy Dalton.
The play catch elicited a big reaction from the crowd as well as Boyd’s teammates, many of whom raced toward the end zone to congratulate him.
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“Those type of plays right there get the whole practice, the whole team, coaches and everybody pumped,” Boyd said. “That’s just a spark. Somebody has to set the tone, and today it was me.”
Actually, Boyd has been setting a tone since camp began. No one has been more impressive through the first week. He caught another touchdown earlier in practice between three defenders, safeties Shawn Williams, George Iloka and Dennard.
“I just want to come out each and every day and showcase my abilities and the let coaches and everybody know that I’m ready to go, I’m locked in and I’m trying to make big plays.”
Slow start
The Bengals got to their first 11-on-11 session just 11 minutes into practice, the earliest start of camp so far. And clearly some of them were not ready.
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Rookie center failed to snap the ball on the first play. On the next play, Brandon LaFell dropped a short pass over the middle. After Matt Barkley threw a couple of short completions with the 2s, the 3s came out and H-back Ryan Hewitt lined up wrong.
An irritated head coach Marvin Lewis screamed for the 1s to go back in and start everything over back at Play 1 on the script.
“We didn’t start the way we need to start practice,” Lewis said. “We’ve got to come back fast after time off. Let’s start again.”
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Injury updates
Rookie wide receiver Auden Tate left on a cart after banging his head on the ground in one-on-one drills, and defensive tackle Josh Tupou left on a cart after limping off following a running play. Rookie defensive lineman Andrew Brown and veteran defensive tackle Chris Baker left practice but remained on the field.
Rookie quarterback Logan Woodside missed his fourth consecutive practice with an undisclosed issue, while cornerbacks Tony McRae (ankle) and Sojourn Shelton (hand) and wide receiver Josh Malone (hamstring) also continue to sit out.
Safety Clayton Fejedelem (undisclosed) missed his first practice camp.
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Quick hitters
Tyler Eifert continued to ease into things with mostly second-team reps, although he did catch a “touchdown” pass from Dalton during a red-zone drill on a play where Williams could have made a stop and the 1- or 2-yard line if it were a live tackling drill. … Alex Redmond, who is battling for the starting job at right guard, had a rough series midway through practice. Lewis yelled at him for holding on the first play, Redmond went to the ground on the second play and had a false start on the third. Christian Westerman ran with the 1s on the next series. … On the play before Boyd’s electrifying touchdown against Dennard, tight end Tyler Kroft fought Iloka for a touchdown pass from Dalton, firing up offensive coordinator, who yelled “That’s what you have to do is make those contested plays.” … Backup quarterback Matt Barkley had one of his better practices of camp, throwing back-to-back touchdowns o Alex Erickson and Cody Core in a red-zone drill before hitting Mason Schreck for a score on his only attempt during two-point conversion work. … On the second and third to last plays of the day, Geno Atkins got in the backfield against the second-team offense to blow up run plays. He beat T.J. Johnson on the first and was joined by linebacker Preston Brown in the backfield on the second one.
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