Jeff Driskel Works As Wide Receiver
- Jeff Driskel is not a lock to make the Bengals‘ 53-man roster, with fourth-round rookie Ryan Finley progressing toward the QB2 role. On Tuesday, the team experimented with its 2018 backup as a wide receiver, Jay Morrison of The Athletic notes (subscription required). Driskel would still prefer to play quarterback, but Finley will work with Cincinnati’s second-stringers in the team’s second preseason game. Zac Taylor approached Driskel on Tuesday about taking reps at receiver, per Morrison. Driskel played quarterback at Florida and Louisiana Tech; he was also a late-round Red Sox draft pick in 2013. He rushed for 130 yards last season (5.2 per scramble).
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/13/19
Here are Tuesday’s minor moves, with the list being updated throughout the night.
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed: P Sean Smith
Chicago Bears
- Waived: WR Emanuel Hall
Cincinnati Bengals
- Waived: T Kent Perkins
Green Bay Packers
- Waived/failed physical: CB Derrick Jones
Los Angeles Chargers
- Waived: LB Josh Corcoran
New York Giants
- Signed: TE Jake Powell
- Placed on IR: WR Amba Etta-Tawo
- Waived: DE Alex Jenkins
- Waived/injured: TE Isaiah Searight
New York Jets
- Waived: TE Nick Truesdell
Philadelphia Eagles
- Signed: DT Aziz Shittu
- Waived/injured: S Blake Countess
- Reverts to IR: WR Shelton Gibson
Seattle Seahawks
- Released from IR: TE Tyrone Swoopes
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Waived: DE Dare Odeyingbo
Bengals Pleased With Finley's Progress
- Set to use Andy Dalton as their starting quarterback for a ninth season, the Bengals did draft another passer this year. Their Ryan Finley fourth-round investment has gone well as the offseason has progressed, and The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. (subscription required) views a Bengals final roster that only includes Dalton and Finley at quarterback. This would mean Cincinnati cutting Jeff Driskel, who was needed for five starts after Dalton’s IR trip last year. A 2016 sixth-round pick, Driskel posted a 31.6 QBR in his 2018 work.
Minor NFL Transactions: 8/8/19
Today’s minor moves:
Chicago Bears
- Signed: WR Joe Walker
- Waived/injured: DB Josh Simmons
Cincinnati Bengals
- Placed on injured reserve: DT Niles Scott
Dallas Cowboys
- Signed: TE Marcus Lucas
- Waived/injured: T Derrick Puni
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: DB Ibraheim Campbell
- Waived/injured: LB Kendall Donnerson
- Released: RB Corey Grant
Kansas City Chiefs
- Signed: DE Hunter Dimick
- Placed on injured reserve: CB Keith Reaser
Minnesota Vikings
- Waived: CB Terrence Alexander
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: RB Kerwynn Williams
- Waived: RB Matthew Dayes
New York Giants
- Placed on injured reserve: LB Mark McLaurin
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Signed: CB Trevon Mathis
- Waived/injured: RB Ralph Webb
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: Jeremiah Valoaga
- Waived: WR Chris Thompson
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: RB Xavier Turner
- Waived/injured: CB Davante Davis
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- Signed: OL Salesi Uhatafe
- Placed on injured reserve: S D’Cota Dixon
Bengals Activate Rodney Anderson
- Bengals sixth-round rookie running back Rodney Anderson has been cleared to practice, tweets Ben Baby of ESPN.com. Once viewed as a potential early-round selection, Anderson suffered a torn ACL during his final season at Oklahoma and subsequently fell to Day 3 of the draft. In 2017, however, Anderson put up 1,161 yards on the ground and scored 18 total touchdowns. Cincinnati is set at the top of its running back depth chart with Joe Mixon and Giovani Bernard, but Anderson and fellow sixth-round rookie Trayveon Williams should make the roster as reserves.
A.J. Green Now Expected To Miss Games?
Hours after a report indicated an A.J. Green Week 1 return was realistic, the timetable for the Bengals’ top player looks bleaker. Green is now expected to miss regular-season time, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport (on Twitter).
The cleanup on Green’s injured ankle revealed more damage, with Rapoport noting this discovery looks set to cost the ninth-year wide receiver a few games. Green has missed regular-season games in two of the past three years, including a career-most seven in 2018. Zac Taylor acknowledged (via The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr., on Twitter) “a couple games” might be the best-case scenario.
“There’s a good chance he’s going to miss a couple games,” Taylor said. “We’re hopeful he’s back at the beginning of the season. A little more extensive than we initially thought. … Hopefully he’ll be ready to go at the beginning half of the season.”
The only wide receiver in NFL history to begin his career with seven straight Pro Bowls, Green missed 13 games since the 2016 season. He tore ligaments in his ankle to start his ninth NFL camp. This comes in a contract year for the 31-year-old wideout. The Bengals have taken care of their No. 2 receiver, Tyler Boyd, via four-year extension.
Bengals Sign CB Tony Lippett
The Bengals signed free agent cornerback Tony Lippett, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). To make room, they’ve waived linebacker Chris Worley. 
For Lippett, a former second-round pick, it’s a new adventure in a familiar scheme. He spent time with defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo in Miami, so he may have a leg up on the competition as he guns for a spot on the 53-man roster.
Lippett, transformed from a collegiate wideout to an NFL corner and made 13 starts for the Fins in 2016. However, he missed the 2017 with a torn Achilles and missed the club’s final cutdowns in 2018. He bounced around a bit last year, including a three-game stint with the Giants.
Latest On Bengals’ A.J. Green
Bengals star A.J. Green underwent a minor ankle procedure on Tuesday morning to clean it out after his injury, sources tell Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Here’s the good news – his timeline should remain the same as before, so Week 1 is still possible for the wide receiver.
[RELATED: A.J. Green Expected Out 6-8 Weeks]
Initially ruled a standard sprain, Green’s injury may cost him regular season time. However, it’s not as scary as it first appeared. Green was carted off of the practice field late last week, creating a scary scene in Cincinnati.
The timing is less than ideal for a number of reasons. Personally, for Green, it comes in the midst of contract negotiations that were on course to put him near the top of the wide receivers list for average yearly compensation. Of course, an injury as minor as this shouldn’t completely derail talks, but it might be a bit of a barrier.
One of the Bengals’ all-time greats, Green ranks second in team annals in catches, receiving yards and touchdowns to Chad Johnson. Among the most productive wideouts since entering the league in 2011, Green earned Pro Bowl honors in each of his first seven seasons and has topped 1,000 yards six times.
A.J. Green Expected Out 6-8 Weeks
An MRI revealed Bengals star receiver A.J. Green tore ligaments in his ankle on Saturday and is now expected to miss the next six to eight weeks, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweets. 
What was originally expected to be just a sprain now is expected to keep the pass-catcher out through the first week of the season. Green injured the ankle at the University of Dayton’s Welcome Stadium and the field conditions were considered to be subpar, according to Shefter [Twitter link].
This is, of course, a bad way to start camp for the Bengals and Green, who missed seven games a year ago and produced career lows in catches and receptions. At the age of 31, Green has been looking to ink a new deal with Cincinnati, but considering he’s missed 13 games in the last three years, the Bengals might not be in any hurry to get something done. Green is signed through 2019 but will become a free agent in 2020.
One of the Bengals all-time greats, Green ranks second in team annals in catches, receiving yards and touchdowns to Chad Johnson. Among the most productive wideouts since entering the league in 2011, Green earned Pro Bowl honors in each of his first seven seasons and has topped 1,000 yards six times.
Cincinnati will now focus its attention on the recently re-signed Tyler Boyd, who posted 76 grabs for 1,028 yards and seven touchdowns in 2018, which led to him signing a four-year deal earlier this week.
A.J. Green Has Sprained Ankle
- There was a lot of panic earlier today when A.J. Green went down with a lower leg injury and had to be carted off at Bengals practice. Fortunately, it doesn’t appear it’s as bad as it could’ve been. The injury is believed to be an ankle sprain, sources told Albert Breer of SI.com, “but Green will have an MRI to make sure it isn’t something more serious.” The Bengals have already had bad injury luck this offseason, with projected starting left tackle Jonah Williams getting knocked out for the year, and this the last thing they needed. Green was hampered by injuries last year, and limited to nine games due to recurrent toe problems. If the Bengals are going to have any success under first-year coach Zac Taylor, they need Green at 100 percent.