Bengals News Roundup (7/18)

There’s about a week left before the first Bengals arrive to training camp, (rookies report Saturday, July 23) which means the 2022 NFL season is quickly approaching. It also means the end of offseason activities is fast approaching. The Bengals haven’t been particularly busy as a team quite yet, but a couple players have made recent headlines.

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Bates Remains Unsigned

The biggest news of the last couple weeks was Friday’s deadline for extensions for players on the franchise tag. That deadline passed without safety Jessie Bates III agreeing to a new deal with the Bengals. Ian Rapoport suggests Bates will likely not arrive to camp while a deal has not been agreed to. This is something to keep an eye on – Bates was crucial to the Bengals’ Super Bowl run last year. However, the Bengals appear ready to move on if needed with rookie Daxton Hill coming in.

New Alternate Helmet Revealed

Earlier in the week, Cincinnati was the latest team to take advantage of the NFL’s new rule allowing for alternate helmets beginning in 2022. On Thursday, the team released a trailer on Twitter for the “White Bengal” design. They followed the Houston Texans in doing so last week and, according to ESPN, became the sixth team to unveil an alternate (or classic) helmet design. (As of this writing, the White Bengal design has not been added to the linked ESPN “alternate-design tracker.”)

Awuzie King on the Chess Board

Off the field, Bengals cornerback Chidobe Awuzie participated in a charity chess tournament with Chess.com on July 9 and 10. Awuzie battled against competition that included Giants rookie Kayvon Thibodeaux, Cardinals legend Larry Fitzgerald and Browns receiver Amari Cooper. Awuzie advanced through the group stage, defeated Fitzgerald in the semifinals, and claimed victory over Cooper in the finals. All six players received a portion of a $100,000 prize pool to a charity of their choice. As the winner, Awuzie took the top prize of $25,000.

– Chris Railsback is a contributing writer for the Bengals at Full Press Coverage.