“I was sitting down on my couch watching TNT, about to watch the Miami Heat game,” said Quinn, a 5-foot-10, 176-pound cornerback who was an All-Ohio selection his senior year at MHS.
“I got a call and they told me to come down here,” Quinn added. “I shot down here.”
A four-year letterman at Kentucky, appearing in 42 games with 32 starts, Quinn was among the invitees to the Bengals’ local player workout last month.
Friday was his 22nd birthday, and he said there was nowhere he would have rather been than on the practice field.
“It went pretty good,” he said after practice. “It was a lot more back-to-back stuff than I expected. But I’ll be ready for it (today).”
Quinn has three days to show the coaches he’s worthy of one of the four vacancies on the 90-man roster.
“I just look at it as another opportunity to play football,” he said. “When I sit down and think about it, I’ll just go out there and love it and have fun with it. However it falls, I’ll go with it from there.”
Silverberry switch: Another player with local connections in camp on a tryout basis is University of Cincinnati product Silverberry Mouhon.
Mouhon played defensive end for the Bearcats, and the Bengals have him listed that way on the rookie roster. But he was working with the linebackers during Friday’s practice because at 6-foot-3 and 268 pounds, he’s undersized for an NFL end.
“I have to be versatile and show them I can do whatever they need me to do,” said Silverberry, who had 38 tackles, including 4.5 sacks, last year at UC.
“I need to show them that no matter what the task may be, no matter how much pressure there is, I can hold it,” he added. “I can do it all.”
Practice observations: Wide receiver Cody Core, the team's sixth-round pick, left on a cart a little more than an hour into practice. He limped off after running a route in an 11-on-11 drill. Trainers were stretching him out before he climbed on the cart. Coach Marvin Lewis said he just needed an IV. … Undrafted free agent wide receiver Alonzo Russell was running routes during the install period of practice without a helmet due to a bout of cauliflower ear. He said he first got it last year and had it drained. It flared up recently and will keep him out of most drills this weekend. … Christian Westerman, the team's fifth-round pick, played left and right guard during Friday's practice but no center. He was a guard at Arizona State, but Bengals coaches said they think he has the ability to play both positions. … Lewis said he was especially pleased with how the players reacted to the tempo and avoided contact, saying "That's probably the best opening day we've ever had with that. We've tried to impress that upon them, and they heard my warnings." … Wide receiver Tyler Boyd, the team's second-round pick, and UFA wide receiver Alex Erickson returned punts, and Lewis said both showed they can be options.
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