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.
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/25/19
Here are Thursday’s minor moves:
Baltimore Ravens
- Waived/injured: WR Quincy Adeboyejo
Cincinnati Bengals
- Signed: LS Dan Godsil
- Waived: WR Kermit Whitfield
Jacksonville Jaguars
- Signed: S Fish Smithson
New Orleans Saints
- Signed: T.J. Green
- Waived/injured: DL Kenny Bigelow, WR Chad Hansen
New York Jets
- Waived: DL Fred Jones
San Francisco 49ers
- Waived: CB Alex Brown
- Waived/injured: OL Erik Magnuson
Tennessee Titans
- Waived: S Damon Webb
Washington Redskins
- Signed: RB Shaun Wilson
- Waived: T Brian Wallace
Bengals Place Darqueze Dennard On PUP
- The Bengals placed Darqueze Dennard and running back Rodney Anderson on their active/PUP list. Dennard underwent offseason knee surgery, while Anderson’s college career ended after an ACL tear. The former Oklahoma running back is a candidate for the reserve/PUP list to start the season, per Fletcher Page of the Cincinnati Enquirer. Should Anderson stay on the PUP list to start the season, he must remain there for six regular-season weeks.
Bengals Re-Sign T Andre Smith
Andre Smith is set for a fourth stint with the team that drafted him in the top 10. The Bengals and the 10-year veteran tackle agreed on yet another reunion Thursday.
The Bengals have encountered some offensive line obstacles this summer, with first-rounder and left tackle starter Jonah Williams suffering a season-ending injury and eight-year starter Clint Boling retiring. On the eve of another Bengals camp, the team landed Smith for another potential go-round.
Smith spent his first seven seasons in Cincinnati, working opposite Andrew Whitworth with the Bengals’ playoff teams. He has joined other teams twice — the Vikings for all of 2016 and the Cardinals for a rough few months in 2018 — but has come back to Cincinnati each time. The Bengals signed him late last season, after the Cardinals cut him, and the 32-year-old blocker looks like a potential depth option once more. Smith also visited the Jets earlier this year.
Both Duke Tobin and new OC Brian Callahan acknowledged the Bengals needed more help up front, with the latter specifying the team needed tackles. While Smith is a few years removed from his prime, the 93-game starter will compete for a spot on another Bengals roster.
The team also placed Williams on its active/PUP list. While that distinction means he could return at any point during camp, the shoulder injury the Alabama product suffered this summer is expected to keep him out until 2020.
AFC North Notes: Bengals, Green, Ravens
Here’s a look at the AFC North:
- Tyler Boyd‘s new extension will impact the ongoing extension talks between the Bengals and A.J. Green, as The Athletic’s Jay Morrison writes. Still, for what it’s worth, director of player personnel Duke Tobin says that they are separate matters. “It’s not an either/or. It’s a both,” Tobin said. “And we’ll see where we can go with the other. We would like to retain both of them, and we will work to do that and see what we can get done as we go here. It’s nice when you are not the only good receiver on a football team, it helps you. Tyler has been great in that he’s really versatile for us, and he can play a number of different positions. They are different-style guys for our game, and they complement each other well. So whether (Boyd’s) No. 1 or No. 2 or whatever, he’s a good football player and he’s been rewarded for that.”
- Good news for the Ravens. According to the transactions wire, defensive tackles Michael Pierce and Daylon Mack and outside linebacker Jaylon Ferguson have all passed their physicals. This means that they’re off the non-football injury list and available to practice when things get underway on Thursday. It should be noted that their NFI designation was different from the one that would have automatically ruled them out for a portion of the year, but it’s still a promising sign for the defense.
- The Browns met with the agent for disgruntled running back Duke Johnson this week.