Rookie linebacker Demetrius Knight Jr. took a screen shot of his first NFL schedule before he went to sleep Wednesday night. Veteran tight end Mike Gesicki made sure he knew the date of the bye.

Which is one of the differences between starting out and starting an eighth season as the Bengals reflected on their 2025 schedule after Thursday's voluntary work on the field.

"It's an advantageous schedule. I love it. Week 10 bye. Perfect," said center Ted Karras, another vet, as he preps for his 10th Opening Day. "Nine games before, eight games after. Perfect split."

The Bengals were pretty much rhapsodizing and not griping.

"No international games. That's an advantage," Karras said. "The lowest travel miles of any team with (8,753). A chance to get a win in the division right away (at Cleveland in the opener). Love it."

Even if they are headed to Baltimore for the third straight year to play a huge division game in a short-week Thursday nighter on Nov. 27 that falls on Thanksgiving.

Not to mention a fourth straight prime-timer at the home of the Ravens, when and where head coach John Harbaugh is 22-3.

"Let's make it four," Karras said. "I have yet to play a day game in Baltimore. Anywhere I've been, I've only seen it at night. It's not just us. It will be rocking. It will be fun. I'm a football player. I play when I'm told to play. I've never played on Thanksgiving. That will be fun."

Gesicki approved as he also looks forward to his first Thanksgiving game.

"I like the structure. A Thursday night game in October kind of gives you a mini-bye," Gesicki said of the Oct. 16 Paycor Stadium game against the Steelers. "The bye week in the (second) week in November. Then a Thursday night game on Thanksgiving. It gives you a coupe of points through the back end of the season to rejuvenate a little bit.

"I've played on Christmas. I've played on Christmas Eve. But never Thanksgiving. That's cool. That's what everybody wants. A big stage, a lot of people watching, a big game, two really good teams. I don't think the day or night changes the magnitude of the game."

Left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. has played in a Pro Bowl and won a Super Bowl. But he's never played in Green Bay, and he's never played on Thanksgiving. He'll do both this year and starts by crossing off Lambeau Field in the Oct. 12 game against the Packers.

"I'm really looking forward to going up and seeing that place. That organization and team has so much history," Brown said.

Karras also makes his first trip there and notes that makes one stadium left for him to hit them all. But Seattle's not on the schedule. Like Brown and Gesicki, he doesn't mind working Thanksgiving.

"Thanksgiving isn't relaxed," Karras said. "Doesn't matter whether we're playing or not. We always have a game looming."

Brown grew up in Baltimore when his namesake dad was one of the linchpins of the first Ravens teams. The Ravens drafted him, and he played his first three seasons there. Another Thursday nighter in his hometown doesn't bother him.

"It doesn't matter to me. We could play wherever," Brown said. "It's a testament to how exciting those games have been. The matchups across the field on both sides of the ball. It's been two really good teams normally at that point facing off against each other."

Brown may not have screen shot it, but he already checked out the snapshot. He thinks it's also a break that the heavy road work comes early. Three of the first four games and four of the first six are on the road. Three of the last four games are at Paycor.

"That's huge. Especially in January. December," Brown said. "Hopefully, we handle business, and it leads right into some home playoff games for us."

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