Updated: 10:20 p.m.
With his brother Artrell tweeting that he believes he suffered a high ankle sprain, wide receiver Andrew Hawkins took the first serious injury to a Bengals regular in training camp Thursday during the Family Night festivities at Paul Brown Stadium.
Indications Thursday night were Hawkins won't be out more than two weeks.
"I know he shouldn't dive for the ball," said Lewis, who preaches to his players to stay on their feet in practice.
The typical time frame for a sprain is two to four weeks, but if it is a high enough, it is a difficult injury and can linger. Hawkins, as the team's fastest receiver, lives on his ankles in the slot. He'll most likely join wide receiver
Although wide receiver
But the Bengals picked up two rookie free-agents recently cut by Tampa Bay as they begin to take some hits.
They acquired Southern Mississippi tackle
It sounds like the Bengals dodged a bullet because Hawkins and Green are not only their two fastest receivers, but Hawkins is a big-time special teams player and his work at gunner last year was a big reason the Bengals led the NFL in punts downed inside the 5.
"He's a role model of hard work and energy and he understands football," Lewis said. "He understands working away from leverage. He's a big plus that way."
SHORT SCRUM: The practice for Thursday night was originally set for 6-8 p.m., but Lewis called it at about 7:20, saying the tempo was fast enough that they got done what they wanted to get done.
The Bengals had their first live scrimmages of the year in a couple of brief sessions mostly pitting the backups against each other.
The best looks came when the No. 1 offense scored on all three shots from the 2-yard line and the No. 1 defense took two out of three from the No. 2 offense from the same spot.
The Bengals No. 1 O went right to their power running game, scoring on power the first two snaps with running back
Then the no-brainer on third down. Quarterback Andy Dalton went play-action, dragged rookie tight end
The No. 1 defense got good coverage in the end zone when backup quarterback
On the third play, Burfict was close enough that tight end
The 2s did score on the second play when running back Dan Herron carried left after he got good blocks from tight end
OTHER NOTABLES:
» Safety
» Rookie free-agent kicker
» Dalton, an estimated 11-of-20 in overall 11-on-11, looked sharp in 7-on-7 red zone work. Keep an eye on rookie running back
» Veteran tight end
» Lewis's short practice left about a 25-minute window for autographs, which he said "is meaningful ... it is part of training camp. It's an opportunity that they never get to get a little closer to the fans."
He smiled, saying he didn't get a chance to show his team the now famous viral video of a Redskins fan going nuts when she didn't get an autograph at camp that had been sent to him by Bengals director of security Rusty Guy. But it looked like a smooth effort and none of his players appeared headed to Facebook.
"Tyler is going to make that play all the time," Lewis said. "That's not the issue. The issue we have is to make sure that we can do the other parts when people try to take that away. It's a nice option to have, that guy out there that can win some one-on-ones in that situation. He's a big target and gives the quarterback a chance to get the ball there.
"Tyler's done a great job ever since he's been here. He doesn't make error. He's lived up to everything we've asked of him."
Another big one: On third-and-one, Dalton was getting squezed in the pocket and was able to wrap the ball around a couple of defenders to find Eifert over the middle.
"Those are the plays we have to make," Lewis said. "The plays we should make."
PLAY OF THE NIGHT: The play where Hawkins got hurt. It showed why he's so valuable. He slithered behind the first defense in 11-on-11 and Dalton drilled a frozen rope of about 25 yards. Hawkins extended as far as he could and crashed into the ground while holding on to the ball.
QUOTE OF THE NIGHT: Lewis on middle linebacker
UP NEXT: Bengals work Friday on the Paul Brown Stadium practice fields from 3-5 p.m., gates open at 2.