When the Bengals announced safety Bryan Cook as one of their three new defensive captains on Monday, maybe the least surprised were two guys who don't play on defense, such as defensive coordinator Al Golden and running back Samaje Perine.
Perine remembers Cook from that 2024 season they were teammates in Kansas City, when the Chiefs lost the Super Bowl despite Cook's early interception of Jalen Hurts. Perine has been extolling Cook's leadership skills ever since they signed him back in March, and could have said he told you so after Monday's practice.
"Vocal leadership and his accountability to everyone on defense," Perine said. "At the end of the day, if D-Line, linebackers mess up, he'll put it on himself. That's the type of player he is. If something isn't right, he puts it on himself first, and that's what you look for in a leader and captain. They take ownership, and they do whatever it takes to make it better."
After practice, Golden sat down with the media and confirmed what they saw in the spring and training camp is going to bleed into Sunday's opener (1 p.m.-Cincinnati's FOX 19) against the Bucs at Paycor Stadium. Linebacker Barrett Carter calls the signals with the green dot on his helmet and running mate Demetrius Knight Jr. has been trained on the radio helmet as well. Golden also underlined how key Cook is in the back end.
"The way he reaffirms calls and communicates, it allows the guys in front of them to get their cleats in the ground and read their keys and play football," Golden said. "The other thing that Bryan does really well is he anticipates what the look is going to be. He tells the other side, XYZ. If he goes, we're going to get to A or B."
DJ Doesn't Stand For Diva
Defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence II, who joins Cook and cornerback DJ Turner II as the defensive captains, says you never really see defensive backs as captains. Maybe, he says, because they can be divas. But, Lawrence says, not these two.
"Bryan is really serious about this football stuff and I appreciate that. They take it seriously. So does DJ," Lawrence said. "They bring the guys together in the back end really well. Probably the best I've seen."
Turner, in his fourth season after a break-out year he put himself among the NFL's elite cornerbacks, appreciates the C as much as Lawrence appreciates Turner's approach.
"I don't take that lightly," Turner said. "The best honor you can get is the respect of your teammates. Honestly, that's all I care about.
"I'm more lead by example, lead by action, but I do speak up when I have to and I know what certain stuff to say to certain people. You just have to read the room."
This was a guy who back last November was already asserting himself as a leader as some secondary mates took notes for themselves on Turner's meditation routines.
"I've been a captain on every team I've ever been on. High School. Michigan," Turner told Bengals.com back then.
"I don't have a C yet, but I've always done this. It's not a new thing for me."
So, no surprise Monday.
"No, I wasn't surprised," Turner said. "I'm very happy."
Head coach Zac Taylor seemed to be in the same boat.
"I think he's absolutely earned the opportunity to be a captain," Taylor said. "He's one of the top corners in this game. He's a leader on our team. Sometimes when the energy I felt in training camp was down, I could hear his voice trying to get everybody going. And so we're going to count on that. He's absolutely earned that right."
More Cook and Dex
Cook and Lawrence are a pair of first-year Bengals who are no-brainers for the captain's job. It's the first time Cook has ever been a captain. His youth team up the road in College Hill didn't have permanent captains. Neither did his high school team at Mount Healthy, or his University of Cincinnati bowl team.
"It's not going to change who I am," Cook said. "I'm going to make it my own."
Lawrence believes this is the fifth time he's been a captain in his eighth year in the league. The first four came with the Giants. He also had the job at Clemson and at Wake Forest High School in North Carolina.
He says he's learned bits and pieces of leadership from the guys he was with in New York, such as running back Saquon Barkley, quarterback Daniel Jones, and edge Brian Burns.
"I've been around a lot of good leaders," Lawrence said. "Everybody is different in their way. It's hard to pinpoint. The greatest basketball player of all time is all opinion-based. You just take things from each one of those guys, and implement it for yourself and keep growing."
Money Mac Divests
Kicker Evan McPherson returns to the special teams captaincy he had in 2024. It will be recalled he missed the last five games of that year with a groin injury that ended what is his worst of his five seasons with a 72.7 field-goal percentage. Now he's coming off the best season of his career at 89.3 after not missing in 2025 from inside 50.
"I feel like I took it for granted a little bit," McPherson said Monday of '24. "I felt the weight of the C on my chest and let it affect me a little too much. So going into this year, I feel like I appreciate it more. At the same time, I'm not going to let it affect my performance and put too much pressure on myself."
Since the specialists have more time to burn than the rest of the roster before practice, McPherson says it's key for his group to make notes and help those who might be able to use a word, as well as make sure they hit all the lunch tables during the season.
The big thing, though, he says, is to stay healthy.
"Be part of the team and uplift the spirits," McPherson said. "I feel like that's a goal of mine. Keep looking to be positive."
Slants and Screens
Zac Taylor said after Monday's practice he's encouraged how wide receivers Ja'Marr Chase (knee) and Tee Higgins (heel) looked, as well as edge Shemar Stewart (knee) in the session …
Stewart looked robust after missing all of camp with a hyperextended knee, and Chase and Higgins suffered nicks in the last ten days or so that weren't supposed to keep them out of the opener.
"All three look good today, so we'll wait to release injury reports on Wednesday," Taylor said. "But I was encouraged by the progress all three of those guys have made." …
Golden on Stewart: "He needed the offseason and he needed training camp and he didn't get that. So it's nothing we can do about that. The physical aspect, you saw him out there today, he looked good. We will monitor him (Tuesday) and see if there are any setbacks and if he continues to be able to hold the workload, then we will continue to progress him. We can't do anything about lost time." …
The week after last season ended, Bengals director of player personnel Duke Tobin talked about developing a wave of defensive linemen during a game. He said the same thing the next month at the NFL scouting combine after his friend John Schneider, the general manager of the Seahawks, used a suffocating D-Line rotation to win the Super Bowl.
Now, the Bengals have a wave of D-line coaches to go with 11 players on the D-Line, although nine or 10 will probably be up for a game. But they're all going to play, and Golden said he has added senior defensive assistant Sean Desai into the room of defensive line coach and run game coordinator Jerry Montgomery and assistant D-line coach Mike Moon.
"We had so (many) assets in that room. It is the largest in number, by far, on the defensive side," Golden said. "We wanted to put a premium on that in terms of eyeballs and coaches.
"Those guys have done a great job. The players themselves are the ones demanding playing time. They're playing well, they're playing at a high level. We're going to rotate a bunch of guys in there and make sure we're fresh down the stretch." …
The addition of versatile guys on the edge like Schneider's own Boye Mafe, as well as second-round pick Cashius Howell, and the development of Cedric Johnson (just turned 24 on Sunday as he begins his third season) has Golden dropping them off the edge just enough to take the heat off Knight.
"I think obviously we have a lot more outside backer types for sure now," Golden said. "I can't underscore how important that is because (Howell has) come through for us in terms of his intellect, his work ethic, his ability to process, and his learning curve. So he's done a really good job. I think Ced Johnson continues to improve. I'm really excited about Ced.
"We have a bunch of different guys that have really come through for us there as edge setters, and (it) keeps (Knight) off the ball and allows him to run and hit, and just makes us a better defense." …
