Camp Opens Tuesday

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Camp opens Tuesday, and no Bengal has more riding on what happens there than Murphy. He’s in the final year of his rookie deal after the Bengals declined his fifth-year option, and Paul Dehner Jr. projects a $20 million-per-year free-agent market waiting for him if he can build on his second-half surge in 2025. That finish, four sacks from November on, 31 hurries on the year, career-high 5.5 sacks overall, was the most consistent football he’s played since being drafted 28th overall out of Clemson in 2023. Now Dexter Lawrence is lined up next to him.

Murphy already said it plainly about Lawrence: “Middle push. Pressure.” That kind of attention from offensive lines is exactly what an edge rusher needs to win one-on-one.

Boye Mafe is the other name to watch. The Bengals’ highest-paid new free agent this offseason wasn’t Lawrence. It was Mafe, on a three-year, $60 million deal out of Seattle. He had nine sacks in 2023, but he was a rotational piece with the Seahawks. Now Al Golden is asking him to play the Viper role: edge rusher, run defender, occasional coverage player. Rookie second-round pick Cashius Howell is training for the same spot.

On the interior, B.J. Hill starts camp on the PUP list. No details on the injury, but he won’t practice until cleared by the medical staff. Hill is entering his fifth season in Cincinnati, a team captain last year who posted 66 tackles, 13 quarterback pressures, and five tackles for loss. He’s under contract through 2027 and was supposed to be the interior anchor alongside Lawrence. Rookie tight end Josh Kattus was also placed on the non-football injury list in the same announcement.

Miami re-signed Jordyn Brooks to a three-year, $51.3 million deal, and Bengals fans were hoping to hear a different team’s name. Brooks led the league with 183 tackles last season and made first-team All-Pro. He would have addressed the most glaring weakness on this roster. Cincinnati allowed 60 touchdowns last season, most in the league, and 380 yards per game.

Carter starts camp as the MIKE, and there’s no real debate about his roster spot. His rookie year was rough: tackling angles exposed, playing next to a fellow rookie in Knight Jr. didn’t help, and PFF graded him 85th out of 88 qualifying linebackers. He’s got the coaching staff’s confidence heading into camp. Hopefully he produces the play to match it.

NFL reporter Aaron Wilson confirmed this week that Mixon has told former Bengals teammates his playing career is finished. He hasn’t filed retirement paperwork, but the Texans released him in March, no team signed him, and now this. The foot injury that kept him out all of 2025 appears to have ended it. In Cincinnati, Mixon ran for 6,412 yards and 62 combined touchdowns over 97 games, second all-time in franchise rushing yards. He was a central piece of the Super Bowl LVI run.

The Bengals announced their 2026 Ring of Honor class. Trumpy, a 12th-round pick in the franchise’s inaugural 1968 season, is the all-time leading tight end in Bengals history by receiving yards (4,600), receiving touchdowns (35), yards per reception (15.4), and Pro Bowl selections (four). Dave Lapham called him “too quick for linebackers, too big for safeties.” Trumpy passed away on November 2, 2025, making this a posthumous honor.

Brooks spent eight seasons as a Bengal, holds the franchise record for career yards per carry at 4.8 (minimum 500 attempts), and was the kind of back who could run inside, catch out of the backfield, and pass protect at 180 pounds against rushers twice his size. The induction ceremony is halftime of the Tennessee game, November 1 at Paycor.

Willie Anderson congratulated both men, then used the moment to push back on the franchise’s decision to move to one inductee per year starting in 2027. “So many men are deserving and we want them to be here to receive this great honor.” Atkins, Green, Whitworth, Dunlap, and Hall were all on this year’s ballot for the first time and none of them got in. The Bengals haven’t responded publicly.

Phase One of the multi-year renovation project is substantially complete. Hamilton County commissioners approved $184.5 million in upgrades, with $120 million going into Phase One. Restrooms, concessions, club lounges, suites, the Pro Shop, and over 1,000 new wayfinding signs throughout the building. The club lounges got the most dramatic treatment: floor-to-ceiling copper tiger stripe columns, jungle leaf flooring, expanded seating, new bars. Fans get their first look this weekend at the Cincinnati Music Festival. Phase Two hits in 2027 and includes new escalators, seat replacements, and a larger videoboard.

Also, the Bengals created something new for New Year’s Eve. On December 31, Paycor hosts the Ravens on Thursday Night Football on Prime Video, and the crowd will be split section-by-section into white and black, forming a tiger stripe pattern across the whole building. That’s the White Bengal uniforms meeting Stripe the Jungle. Week 17, division stakes, New Year’s Eve. Trey Hendrickson comes back to Cincinnati that night, now wearing purple. Circle it.

Training camp opens Tuesday, July 28 at the Kettering Health Practice Fields. First open public practice runs Wednesday, July 29, 10 a.m. to noon. Friday night stadium practice at Paycor is August 7 at 6 p.m., free tickets available in the Bengals app.

Talking Football Season 7 Kicks Off Tonight

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Season 7 kicks off tonight, July 26 at 8:00 PM!

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2026 Featured Musical Guest

We’re fired up to announce this year’s featured musical guest for the Bengal Jim & Friends Before the Roar Tailgate Experience!

🎼 Sami Riggs & The Black Sheep

📅 November 15th Tailgate

Get ready for an unforgettable pregame party with one of Cincinnati’s favorite bands!

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Miami Tailgate

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