In the first practice since the Bengals lost sure-handed Tanner Hudson for the season with a pectoral injury, tight end Erick All Jr. showed off the depth of the room when he ran some of the routes reserved for noted pass catches Hudson and Mike Gesicki.
Since Monday is an extra day coming out of the bye and the Bengals won't delve into full-game prep until Wednesday for the Ravens on Sunday (1 p.m.-Cincinnati's Local 12) in Baltimore, it gave the Bengals time to work on some things in the pass game.
"It's stuff he wouldn't do in a normal week, but he looked great doing it," said tight ends coach James Casey. "He's a really talented receiver. He's athletic, he can change directions, and he's got great hands.
"We haven't scratched the surface on what we can do with him as a blocker and a receiver."
Casey, who was in on the 2024 draft when the Bengals took All in the fourth round, reminded All Monday about those choice routes he ran at Michigan. After All has caught five of six targets this season for 30 yards during 103 snaps in his comeback from missing all of 2025 with an ACL injury, no one has to remind Casey and All about his first five NFL games in 2024. He caught all 14 targets for 92 yards on 141 snaps and played more than half the snaps three times. He didn't do that this season until last Sunday in Miami.
With Hudson out and All finding his feet, the snaps and targets figure to start piling up for All, getting in his majority of plays as a maniacal blocker in the run game. Casey can see All making a huge catch like Hudson did last week, when he mowed the grass with his hands to scoop up a third-and-seven conversion that kept a drive going where he scored a touchdown.
He's bullish on both All and rookie Jack Endries because Casey believes their abilities to both catch and block lend the offense versatility.
"No matter what, if you miss the whole year like he did, you have to get in a game and play and play and play and get back what you felt," Casey said. "The bye week has been a good time for him. He's established himself healthy again.
"And he's playing fast, and now I'm looking for him to take off the rest of the year. He doesn't want to be pigeon-holed as a guy who can (only) run and hit. He's talented. He can do it all … Maybe he can capitalize on some of the opportunities Tanner had."
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor says replacing Hudson, like wide receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, is going to be by committee. Hudson had a niche role depending on how the game evolved (he had a high of 31 snaps when the Bengals played from behind against the Jaguars and had 19 last week in Miami as the Bengals held the lead), and sees Gesicki and a big wide receiver such as Colbie Young (looking healthy), also able to fill a void, as is All.
'He's a physical player. I think when he's got the ball in his hands, he looks to bring that physicality and tries to get what he can after the catch," Taylor said.
"We'll call on the whole room and the receiver room. We're getting healthy at the receiver room, too. I think just combining both those rooms and dispersing how those roles will play out is something we're always open to week to week. We feel like we've got a lot of people with a lot of different strengths that can all play at a high level in both those rooms, and just finding ways to game plan for those guys to get them all involved is important for us."
All is adamant he'll do what's asked as a blocker or receiver and insists there are no issues with his knee.
"Some guys may pride themselves on being good at one thing or the other," All said after practice. "I pride myself on being the best football player I can be and help get us a win."
Orlando, Part I
Well, it won't be the first time this week that Bengals left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. is going to talk about his special relationship with Ravens All-Pro edge rusher Trey Hendrickson, the only Bengal to ever win an official NFL sack title.
After Monday's practice, Brown recalled how those heated training camp battles with Hendrickson on the Kettering Health Practice Fields made him better despite the fisticuffs. And that included the very first snap in 2023 that boiled over.
"That's who he is. That's why I respect him. He's a fighter," Brown said. "I think it helps him. I think it helps me. Just in terms of the feel. The feel of his rushes, his counter. How much? I can't put my finger on that. But at the end of the day, I've got to play Sunday."
Hendrickson is up to his old tricks with two sacks to go with the third-best pressure rate in the league for edges (Next Gen Stats). Even in the Ravens' 13-10 loss Sunday, according to Pro Football Focus, tortured Cleveland quarterback Deshaun Watson for a sack and five other pressures.
"A lot of passion," Brown said. "That's why they paid him there, that's why we paid him here. That's why he's been so successful. I have no friends with D-linemen not on my team. When I retire, one day, Trey will be one of my good friends."
Injury Update
It sounds like rookie wide receiver Colbie Young (knee) is going to be back Sunday after he's missed virtually the last three games. He didn't go last week in Miami even though he practiced.
"He's looked as good as he's looked in a long time," Taylor said after Monday's practice. "I think last week he had a good week on what he could handle from a rehab perspective. So this week to get him back involved, he looked good running around today. I think it's good to finally get him back and feel like he's closer to 100% healthy."
Backup safety Kyle Duggar (quad), who missed the last two games, was on the field Monday. Cornerback Ja'Sir Taylor (hamstring) starts his second week of being eligible to come off injured reserve. And, the Bengals have an extra roster spot with Hudson going on injured reserve.
Zac Taylor said both are going to be monitored through the week.
Slants and Screens
You bet Orlando Brown Jr. watched Ravens-Browns Sunday. His dad, the late Orlando "Zeus," Brown Sr., played for both teams, and his son enjoyed the style of 13-10 slugfest won by the Browns …
On Sunday, he plays his 40th AFC North game. Brown knows the recipe is no different than the first division game his dad played for the Bill Belichick-coached Browns in the 1994 opener at Cincinnati in what was then the old AFC Central …
(Brown leads all Bengals starters with 39 North games, followed by Dean of the Bengals Drew Sample's 35. No one is near backup quarterback Joe Flacco's 70) ...
"Division games, it comes down to the most physical team and taking care of the football," Brown said Monday. "Those two things. The coaches knowing other coaches, the players knowing other players, to me that's most physical team and winning the turnover battle." …
But Brown doesn't think what happened in Cleveland Sunday with the Ravens is going to happen with Bengals-Ravens this Sunday in Baltimore.
"No secret," Brown said. "We've got the best quarterback in football, the two best receivers in football. You won't see a similar game plan." …
Although he's in only his third NFL season, All has won a lot of respect in the locker room, and on the coaching staff for how hard he plays the game and for just how physical he throws around his body. Zac Taylor is one of his biggest fans. But not in Miami.
It just so happened that when All walked off the field Monday and headed into the locker room, he just happened to be walking next to Taylor.
It will be recalled that last Sunday during the first quarter in Miami that Taylor lit into All like no other player he has ever lit into here. In a 7-7 game and the Bengals getting the ball at their own 40 after a botched kickoff, All moved them back with a 15-yard penalty following a post-snap head butt. On Monday, even eight days later after a win, All just wanted to let Taylor know again that it wouldn't happen again.
All, by the way, still keeps calling it "a bone-head play," and "stupid."
"I felt like I needed to let him know I'm not the guy doing stupid stuff, and he won't have to worry about it again. Same thing I told him on the field," All said. "I just wanted to reiterate to him to make sure I got the message. We're on the same page. I want him to feel like he can coach me and not feel he has to bite his tongue about anything."
All said it was really a small deal that cost his team big.
"It was one of those little walk-by-things after the play," All said. "It was stupid. It was really stupid … I love that (Taylor) can do that, just coming from his heart. Which I think it did. He knows I can do better. He's a coach trying to win a game and I screw us at that moment. And I never thought I'd be a player who would do that. I'll never do that again." …
