Bengals Practice Report: Chris Evans’ One-Handed Gesture Toward Teammate Illustrates Growth on Day 13

With Bengals running back Joe Mixon on trial for aggravated menacing Monday, Chris Evans took the first-team reps, which not only ensured him more touches but more chances to work on his pass protection.

And, as it turned out, more fun.

Cincinnati Bengals Practice Report Day 13

On the sixth play of the first 11-on-11 session, Evans was in the backfield when he saw safety Dax Hill, his former teammate at Michigan, getting shifty with his eyes. Evans knew Hill was blitzing, and he gave him the curled hand, flexing fingers signal as if to say, “Bring it on.”

Hill blitzed, Evans stepped in his path, squared him up, and gave quarterback Jake Browning time to uncork a deep pass attempt for wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase.

“I know what he looks like when he’s about to blitz because he tries to look around like he’s not coming, and I just said, ‘C’mon, bro,'” Evans said. “We literally just talked about it yesterday. I said, ‘I know when you’re blitzing because you try to be sneaky with it.’ So I was like, ‘C’mon, man. I already know.'”

Evans’ ability to pick up blitzers will be the No. 1 thing that determines whether he makes the 53-man roster and wins the third-down back role vacated by the departure of Samaje Perine.

The 2021 sixth-round pick knows it’s an area of his game that was lacking his first two seasons, and he dedicated his offseason to embracing the difficulty of the role.

“I’m way further ahead of where I was last year at this time,” Evans said.

And Hill, after being thwarted by him Monday, agreed.

“He squared me up,” Hill said. “I’ve got to be able to get around him and get the sack next time. But yeah, he got me fair and square. He got me clean.”

“But I didn’t even see him give me that gesture,” Hill added. “That’s funny. I’m gonna go watch the film and look for it right now.”

With Mixon away from the team Monday, Evans was embracing the opportunity to not only get reps with the first team but to get more chances altogether. With Trayveon Williams out due to a sprained ankle, the competition for the third-down back role currently is a two-man race between rookie Chase Brown and Evans.

“Really, it’s the volume of reps,” Evans said. “I never really thought about it, but you get in the game and you ain’t had the reps in practice, you’re like, ‘I have to make this block or it’s over. I’m never gonna get this opportunity again.'”

“I had some plays my rookie year and my second year where I was praying somebody would blitz while I was in the game so I could block them,” he continued. “Because you don’t get it until you get it. And when you do get it, you’ve got to be ready. Having all these reps is really a blessing.”

Center of Attention

Veteran offensive lineman Max Scharping did something in Friday night’s preseason game against the Packers that he has never done in any game at any level: He snapped the ball.

Scharping started at left and right tackle in college at Northern Illinois, and he’s played right and left guard during his four seasons in the NFL, including two playoff games for the Bengals last year, but he had never lined up at center until the second quarter Friday night.

“I showed I could snap the ball back in OTAs, and (offensive line coach Frank Pollack) was like, ‘Careful what you do, or we could ask for more,'” Scharping said.

Pollack has been rotating Scharping and Hill between guard and center since the start of training camp, and that continued against the Packers with Hill at center and Scharping at left guard in the first quarter before swapping spots for the second quarter.

Scharping said the results were mixed from his first experience snapping in a game.

“Overall, I wish I had some plays back, wish I had some of the snaps back,” he said. “Some things were pretty good, some things I need to clean up, and I’m looking forward to doing that this week.”

Finding ways for more players to play multiple positions could be a step toward the Bengals keeping only nine offensive linemen on the 53-man roster.

Updated #Bengals 53-man roster projection with movement after Friday night’s performances: https://t.co/HEl5cxDUsA pic.twitter.com/Crd9v1ryav

— Jay Morrison (@ByJayMorrison) August 12, 2023

Odds and Ends

• The Bengals had a scare when Tee Higgins was slow to get up after taking contact from two defenders on a deep ball in the rain.
• Linebacker Joe Bachie was back to work after suffering a chest injury against the Packers.
• Cornerback Sidney Jones IV missed his second consecutive practice with an undisclosed injury, cracking the door even wider for rookie second-round pick DJ Turner, who once again had an impressive PBU in coverage against Ja’Marr Chase.
• One day after Chase beat Cam Taylor-Britt early on a deep ball that led to a frustrating practice for the corner, Chase did it again. This time, however, Jake Browning overthrew the wide-open Chase on the third play of 11-on-11s.
• Upon further review, Higgins said the one-handed touchdown the Bengals tweeted out Sunday was incomplete after watching the film. Higgins’ toe was down, but his heel was out. “They need to change that rule,” he said.

• Defensive end Trey Hendrickson had yet another big day, punctuated by a leaping one-handed interception of a Browning screen pass. Hendrickson also sacked Browning on a play later in practice and recorded a pressure that forced Browning to throw the ball away.
• Defensive tackle B.J. Hill and defensive end Joseph Ossai also had sacks.
• Defensive tackle DJ Reader batted a Browning pass at that line that Taylor-Britt would have intercepted had Higgins not transformed into a defensive back and knocked the ball away.
• Slot corner Jalen Davis spent some time with the first team, giving Mike Hilton a rest. During his series with the ones, Davis intercepted Trevor Siemian, resulting in Chidobe Awuzie sprinting from the sidelines to congratulate him.
• Safety Nick Scott got his first interception of camp, but he wasn’t gloating over it as it came just as the rain intensified and Browning had the ball slip out of his hands. “I’ll take it, but it wasn’t ‘man-on-man coverage, throws a good ball, I jump it’ kind of thing. Nah, it was a broken play.”