A grateful Devon Still returned Tuesday when the Bengals opened their mandatory minicamp. But not because it was mandatory. He returned to work because 5-year-old daughter Leah has made a significant turn for the better in the battle for her health.
Before practice Still said the family got word Monday that the treatment for complications with her chemotherapy treatments are beginning to kick in and her liver is responding favorably. She's heading into her fourth month of remission of neuroblastoma, a rare form of pediatric cancer.
While attending to his daughter back home during the Bengals' voluntary spring workouts,
Still has managed to have a ground-breaking offseason. The backup defensive tackle has lost nearly 20 pounds and is down to 296 in a bid to enhance his quickness. And it hasn't hurt his strength. Last week he bench-pressed a personal best 405 pounds five times.
Head coach Marvin Lewis indicated Still probably won't participate in team stuff this week because they're gauging where he is physically, but he did work in individual drills Tuesday...
Veteran left tackle Andrew Whitworth is back home in Louisiana attending the funeral of a close friend…
Left end Carlos Dunlap can't set his goal any higher. He's shooting for 23 sacks because the NFL record is Michael Strahan's 22.5 in 2001 for the Giants. Dunlap, who had a career-high 9.5 sacks as a rookie in 2010, says he spent his offseason focusing on his get-off and using a stance that is more "functional than comfortable." …
Former Auburn running back Onterio McCalebb converted to cornerback when he signed after the 2013 draft and after appearing in one game since he made another conversion Tuesday when he lined up with the wide receivers as the Bengals try and find a way to use his speed….
The two fastest players on the team are now at receiver with the Bengals adding West Virginia wide receiver Mario Alford in the seventh round last month. Alford is learning to catch punts and appeared pretty flawless on Tuesday when he handled a few…
Running back Rex Burkhead continued to excel in the slot, catching a slant from backup quarterback AJ McCarron working against cornerback Leon Hall. ..
Quarterback Andy Dalton hooked up easily with tight end Tyler Eifert in 7-on-7 on two consecutive routes, but when he had Green on a quick hitter in the slot against Hall he overthrew him…
With Whitworth out, second-round pick Jake Fisher worked at left tackle with the first unit. Right tackle Andre Smith is working in drills, but Eric Winston is working at right tackle during team unit...
Wide receiver James Wright, coming back from a torn PCL, went through rehab Tuesday, as did right end Margus Hunt (back) and safety George Iloka, who wouldn't disclose his injury. But all three are expected to be ready for the first day of training camp.
