Jones told FOX19 TV reporter Jeremy Rauch he had an MRI and “we’ll see.” A team representative said Jones would not be doing interviews.
Cincinnati was testing out its new FieldTurf CORE surface at Paycor Stadium for the first time in a practice Thursday, as the team sets to host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their preseason opener Saturday. Seven other NFL teams have the same monofilament product, which the Bengals selected with player safety and performance data in mind.
“A lot of time and energy has been spent on the health and safety of our players, what is best for their health and safety,” Bengals coach Zac Taylor said. “So, a lot of people in this organization worked tirelessly to make sure we had the best product available to where our players can function to their max ability and be safe. It’s football, so things are always going to happen, but the time and effort -- I do appreciate ownership, and (director of operations Jeff) Brick (Brickner) and (equipment manager) Adam Knollman and all the people involved in that.”
Taylor said the Bengals held a walkthrough in the stadium for the first time Wednesday, and he felt it was important to get a practice on the turf before playing a game. The Bengals were not able to get onto the surface before this week because of the Luke Combs concert at Paycor Stadium this past weekend.
The Bengals originally were scheduled to have fans in attendance Thursday, but with the change to the stadium, it was a closed practice and the organization added an open session Aug. 19 instead.
“I thought it’d be good to get a practice, just us in the stadium,” Taylor said. “…Just two days before the game. ... But we do this during the season. Oftentimes we’ll be out there for our walk-throughs, we’ll practice in the stadium a lot. A lot of our new players haven’t been out there ever. They’ve never been in the stadium before. So, I think it’s good before the first game action for them to get a chance to go out there and experience it a little bit.”
Cornerback Mike Hilton said he was glad to finally get a chance to see how his movement would feel on the new surface, and his first impression was a good one.
“It definitely feels a little different than our previous turf,” Hilton said. “I’m pretty sure they are still in the process of fixing things up, but moving around and breaking on it, it felt pretty good. It’s a little smoother than our last one. It does have a little bouncy feel to it, but I think that’s because it’s real fresh. The movement of it felt pretty good today.”
Trey Hendrickson was back to work in full team drills Thursday after doing individual drills only Wednesday in his return to practice following a chest bruise. Taylor said rookie defensive tackle McKinnley Jackson will be “week to week” with a knee injury that currently has him in a brace and on crutches.
Fellow defensive linemen Jay Tufele and Domenique Davis also are working through injuries, but Tufele was back in practice Thursday. Davis is also “week to week.”
To account for the injuries on the defensive line, the Bengals on Thursday signed another free agent defensive tackle in Carlos Davis, a third-year player who originally was a seventh-round draft pick by the Steelers in 2020. Davis was not in the league in 2023 but spent the 2024 spring with the Birmingham Stallions of the United Football League. He appeared in 12 games over three seasons with Pittsburgh from 2020 through 2022, recording 12 tackles with three tackles for loss and one sack.
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