1. Kings of the Jungle
Dexter Lawrence II to Joe Burrow at the start of practice: "I wanna see it today Mr. Burrow."
Joe's response: "You can see it every day brother"
I asked Dexter about that exchange after practice.
"Somebody has to challenge the King of the Jungle as they say," Lawrence said. "Somebody has to keep him on edge in order for him to get better and grow. That competitive spirit won't stop. And with a guy like that, I know he's going to bring it. It's going to be fun."
2. Burrow to Chase is Back
The first pass of training camp in 11-on-11 drills was a Burrow under center play-action strike between defenders to Ja’Marr Chase.
"The defensive coordinator wakes up on the Monday morning of the week that he plays us and the first thing that he thinks about is Ja'Marr Chase and Joe Burrow," offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher said.
3. Rookie Lew Cleared for Camp
Great to see rookie center Connor Lew cleared for the start of camp after tearing his ACL last October. He did O-line drills at full speed, but sat out team periods.
"The whole process has been about doing it the right way," Lew said. "It's a ramp-up for a couple of weeks. Just making sure everything feels right as we build into full contact, but everything is good so far."
4. Fiery First Day
Practice was unusually feisty for day one. Tackling was off limits, so Mike Gesicki took exception to being pulled down by Jalen Davis. And Chase and DJ Turner II had to be separated after a brief scuffle.
"Brothers fight," Turner said. "That's all it is. Nothing to it. Brothers fight all the time."
"To me, making these practices physical and competitive is what it's going to take for us to be what we want," Orlando Brown Jr. said. "Everybody in here should have a chip on their shoulder."
5. Shemar Sidelined
Here's hoping that the injury to Shemar Stewart doesn't cause him to miss a lengthy period of time. He looked fast and explosive in D-line drills before hurting his knee in 11-on-11 reps.
"That was tough," Lawrence said. "Great dude and he's been working his butt off this off-season to prove himself. "Hopefully, it's not too bad — whatever is going on — and my prayers go up for him."
View some of the top shots from Day 1 of Bengals Training Camp at Kettering Health Practice Fields, Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
QB Joe Burrow during Day One of Training Camp at Kettering Health Practice Fields, Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
DT Dexter Lawrence and DE Cashius Howell during Day One of Training Camp at Kettering Health Practice Fields, Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
RB Chase Brown during Day One of Training Camp at Kettering Health Practice Fields, Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
CB Tacario Davis during Day One of Training Camp at Kettering Health Practice Fields, Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
RB Samaje Perine during Day One of Training Camp at Kettering Health Practice Fields, Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
DT B.J. Hill during Day One of Training Camp at Kettering Health Practice Fields, Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
WR Ja'Marr Chase makes a catch over S Jordan Battle during Day One of Training Camp at Kettering Health Practice Fields, Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
QB Joe Burrow during Day One of Training Camp at Kettering Health Practice Fields, Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
LB Barrett Carter during Day One of Training Camp at Kettering Health Practice Fields, Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
WR Ja'Marr Chase during Day One of Training Camp at Kettering Health Practice Fields, Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
DT Dexter Lawrence II during Day One of Training Camp at Kettering Health Practice Fields, Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
WR Mitch Tinsley during Day One of Training Camp at Kettering Health Practice Fields, Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
CB Dax Hill during Day One of Training Camp at Kettering Health Practice Fields, Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
WR Ja'Marr Chase during Day One of Training Camp at Kettering Health Practice Fields, Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
DT Landon Robinson during Day One of Training Camp at Kettering Health Practice Fields, Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
RB Chase Brown during Day One of Training Camp at Kettering Health Practice Fields, Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
S Bryan Cook during Day One of Training Camp at Kettering Health Practice Fields, Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
TE Mike Gesicki during Day One of Training Camp at Kettering Health Practice Fields, Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
DE Boye Mafe during Day One of Training Camp at Kettering Health Practice Fields, Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
RB Tahj Brooks during Day One of Training Camp at Kettering Health Practice Fields, Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
DE Cashius Howell during Day One of Training Camp at Kettering Health Practice Fields, Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
WR Ja'Marr Chase during Day One of Training Camp at Kettering Health Practice Fields, Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
DE Boye Mafe during Day One of Training Camp at Kettering Health Practice Fields, Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
WR Tee Higgins during Day One of Training Camp at Kettering Health Practice Fields, Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
K Evan McPherson during Day One of Training Camp at Kettering Health Practice Fields, Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
