Bengals’ Brandon LaFell Suffers Injury
Bengals wide receiver Brandon LaFell is dealing with a torn ligament in his hand, sources tell Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (on Twitter). Surgery is possible for the veteran, though it wouldn’t be a season-ender. His exact timetable for a return is murky at this time and it remains to be seen exactly when the Bengals could get him back. 
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If LaFell is out for an extended period of time, they may look to the free agent market to add a receiver. It might also make sense for Cincinnati to wait until early September when 53-man cutdowns will bring a number of notable WR to the open market.
As shown on Roster Resource, the Bengals also have Brandon Tate and rookies Tyler Boyd and Cody Core at wide receiver behind A.J. Green, but LaFell is slated to be the team’s WR2 following Marvin Jones‘ departure. If he has to miss significant time, it will leave the Bengals with a lack of veteran leadership at the position.
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Bengals Deal With Wild Card Loss
The Bengals lost their Wild Card contest against the Steelers in a devastating fashion, with late-game penalties by cornerback Adam Jones and linebacker Vontaze Burfict allowing Pittsburgh to kick a game-winning field goal. Instead of dwelling on the loss, head coach Marvin Lewis says Cincinnati has quickly moved on, as he tells Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com. “Last year ended, we covered that the first week of the offseason program,” said Lewis. “And there’s been no mention of how the season ended since then.” Defensive coordinator Paul Guenther, meanwhile, has been pressing his players during practice sessions, telling them: “If you lose it here, you’re gonna lose it in a game.”
George Iloka On Re-Signing With Bengals
- Before he re-signed with the Bengals for five years and $30MM in March, standout safety George Iloka considered accepting an offer from the Vikings, he said Wednesday (via Chris Tomasson of the Pioneer Press). Joining the Vikings would’ve meant playing for head coach Mike Zimmer, whom Iloka worked under from 2012-13 when Zimmer was the Bengals’ defensive coordinator. “If I was going there, I was going because of Zim,” Iloka, 26, revealed. “I know what type of locker room he has there just by the type of coach he is. But I really wanted to come back. My chances of leaving Cincinnati weren’t too high, and I’m back.’’
Tyler Boyd Could Make Rookie Impact
- Given that Bengals starting tight end Tyler Eifert is expected to miss the start of the regular season with following ankle surgery, and that backup TE Tyler Kroft is also out for awhile after hyperextending his knee, Cincinnati will need someone to catch passes in the middle of the field, and rookie slot receiver Tyler Boyd, who’s been labeled the “star of Bengals camp,” could be that player, as Paul Dehner Jr. of the Cincinnati Enquirer writes. Scouting guru Dave-Te Thomas recently analyzed Cincinnati’s rookie class for PFR, noting that Boyd “explodes off the line and has the second gear to run past cornerbacks when he doesn’t get slowed down at the line of scrimmage.”
- Speaking of the Bengals, current Browns head coach Hue Jackson was a driving force in convincing Terrelle Pryor to make the switch from quarterback to wide receiver when the pair was in Cincinnati, according to Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com. The Browns drafted five receivers in this year’s draft, adding that rookie crop to a unit that already includes Andrew Hawkins and the recently reinstated Josh Gordon, so Pryor will certainly face competition. But as Cabot details, the former Ohio State QB is likely to make his impact as a deep-ball specialist and a weapon on special teams.
Bengals Sign CB Tony McRae
- The Bengals announced the signing of rookie free agent cornerback Tony McRae. The North Carolina A&T product was briefly with Oakland this spring.
Falcons Sign Dwight Freeney
SATURDAY, 2:42pm: Freeney’s Falcons base salary will be worth $1MM, Mike Jurecki of Fox Sports 910 reports (on Twitter). His base was $970K last season with the Cardinals.
TUESDAY, 9:00pm: Freeney will earn $2MM “up front” and can score another $2MM via sack incentives, tweets Ed Werder of ESPN.com. Admittedly, that report is a little unclear, as it’s highly unlikely that Freeney has secured $2MM guaranteed.
TUESDAY, 3:21pm: The Falcons have agreed to sign Dwight Freeney, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The veteran defensive end chose the Falcons over the Bengals, Rapoport adds. 
Freeney, 36, worked out for the Falcons earlier this summer but the team decided to put him on the back burner as they evaluated other players already in-house. After tallying eight sacks in an abbreviated 2015 season, Freeney makes a lot of sense for Quinn & Co. and the team recently made him an offer to jump into their defensive end group. The Falcons are slated to start Vic Beasley and Derrick Shelby at defensive end with support from Adrian Clayborn, Tyson Jackson, and now Freeney.
Recently, former NFL head coach and current analyst Mike Nolan pushed the Falcons to sign Freeney to amp up their quarterback pressure. Last season, the Falcons finished with a league-worst 19 sacks. Now, Freeney is coming to Atlanta with an eye on adding to his 119.5 career sack tally.
The Falcons were also considering a reunion with O’Brien Schofield, but they might not need him after adding Freeney. Recently, PFR’s Dallas Robinson ran down the top ten teams most likely to sign Freeney and put the Falcons at the top of the list.
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Bengals CB William Jackson Suffers Torn Pec
THURSDAY, 11:49am: Bengals coach Marvin Lewis says Jackson could return this season after having surgery to reattach his pec muscle, Albert Breer of The MMQB tweets.
TUESDAY, 12:15pm: Jackson is seeking a second opinion to find out whether he’ll be out for the season or just placed on IR-DTR with the possibility to return, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
11:45am: Bengals first rounder William Jackson III has suffered a torn pectoral muscle, a source tells Mike Garafolo of NFL.com (on Twitter). At minimum, Jackson can be expected to miss a few months as a result of the injury.
Jackson, a University of Houston product, turned heads with a 4.37 second 40-yard-dash time at the NFL combine. Jackson not only came with a great deal of promise, but the Bengals were banking on using him as a key cog in their cornerback rotation this year.
Over the last two years at UH, Jackson allowed just 40% of passes thrown his way to be completed. After watching him perform in college and excel at the combine, scouting guru Dave-Te Thomas was high on his potential and cited his aggressiveness as a positive:
Jackson was considered a “lockdown corner” for the Houston Cougars after he appeared in thirteen games and finished second in the American Athletic Conference with ten pass breakups in 2014. He also picked off two passes and tallied 37 tackles. Last season, the All-American led the nation and set a Houston single-season record with 23 pass deflections. He also led the nation in passes defended with 28, finishing 20th with five interceptions. He concluded his career ranked third on the UH career passes broken up chart with 40, despite only playing three seasons.
Some other “good news” numbers include Jackson recording six turnovers and coming up with 22 third-down stops…Jackson is certainly not going to impress you with being a great physical presence on the field, but he does demonstrate excellent speed and jump- ball timing. He is very consistent in being “getting into the face” of a receiver. He opens his hips well when asked to handle switch-offs on deep patterns and moves well in space, but he certainly lacks any sort of punch and physicality when required to deliver press coverage (recorded ten reps in the 225-pound bench press drill). His leaping ability helps him get to most balls though and he always seems to get his hands on the pigskin, even when he isn’t in great position.
As shown on their depth chart, the Bengals are currently slated to start Dre Kirkpatrick and Adam Jones at the cornerback spots with Darqueze Dennard as the third corner. Without Jackson, 2015 fourth-round pick Josh Shaw could see an increased role in the coming year. The Bengals could also look to the open market for CB help.
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Russell, Redmond Promising Bengals UDFAs
- Wide receiver Alonzo Russell and interior lineman Alex Redmond represent two of the top choices to continue the Bengals‘ run of UDFAs making the 53-man roster, Cincinnati.com’s Paul Dehner Jr. writes. The 6-foot-4 Russell was a four-year contributor at Toledo, recording 3,076 yards and 24 receiving TDs from 2012-15. A UCLA product, Redmond will be competing with the likes of fifth-round rookie Christian Westerman and 2013 seventh-rounder T.J. Johnson for a spot as a backup interior blocker.
Bengals Sign Corey Tindal
- The Bengals announced that they have signed cornerback Corey Tindal. The Marshall product initially joined the Bengals as a UDFA in May. Tindal should give the Bengals some extra depth in practice as they deal with injuries to their other corners.
Leon Hall Down To Two Teams
Leon Hall is visiting the Giants today, according to a source who spoke with Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (on Twitter). The Bengals are also interested in facilitating a reunion and, at this point, it looks like Hall is going to sign with one of those two teams, Schefter says. 
[RELATED: Bengals Still Considering Leon Hall]
In late June it was reported that although the Giants wanted to address their cornerback depth, Hall was more likely to sign with the Cardinals or Bengals. For one reason or another, the Giants seem to have leapfrogged the Cards as a landing spot for the veteran.
After dealing with a multitude of injuries throughout his career, including two torn Achilles, Hall underwent back surgery this offseason, and that ailment likely hurt his market this offseason. Still, Hall offers a great deal of experience and could be a solid slot corner for any team in need. Aside from the Giants and incumbent Bengals, Hall has also met with or been linked to the Cardinals, Falcons, Cowboys, Giants, and Dolphins. The Dolphins, in particular, could use some help at cornerback, but they are not interested in Hall or fellow veteran corner Antonio Cromartie at this time.
Injuries have been an issue for Hall, but they haven’t shut him down. The former Michigan Wolverine has played in 29 regular-season games over the last two seasons since last tearing his Achilles in 2013, and received solid grades from Pro Football Focus in 2015, ranking 33rd out of 111 qualified corners.
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