Team news: Cincinnati Bengals | Page 8

Colts RB Jonathan Taylor, who has been away from the team getting additional rehab on his ankle, is back today, source said.

Related players: Zack Moss, Evan Hull, Deon Jackson, Kenyan Drake

Taylor remains on PUP and his stance has not changed, and he wants a trade out of Indy. But, he has returned to the team, according to the rest of Rapoport's post. With Taylor out and Moss dealing with an arm injury, Hull and Jackson look to be later-round targets, at least for now.

The Colts are signing RB Kenyan Drake, per his agency.

Related Players: Jonathan Taylor, Zack Moss, Evan Hull

With Taylor sidelined for what feels like an indefinite amount of time as it stands, Zack Moss is also out for 1-2 months with a broken forearm. Drake adds depth and probably impacts rookie Evan Hull's ability to see the field early in the year more than anything.

As for the trade demand, Jim Irsay’s been adamant: It’s not happening. Not now and not before the deadline in October. The team owns every bit of leverage here and has the option of placing the franchise tag on Jonathan Taylor each of the next two offseasons — a last-ditch outcome that would surely not be either side’s preference.

As Chris Ballard said recently, “The market is what the market is.”

Related Players: Zack Moss, Deon Jackson, Evan Hull, Jake Funk

With Taylor sidelined for what feels like an indefinite amount of time as it stands, Zack Moss is also out for 1-2 months with a broken forearm. The relationship between Taylor and the team feels like it's bordering on abject disaster, but if the Colts franchise tag him and he sits out anyways, he will only be hurting his own bank account.

Through no fault of Taylor's, the team doesn't want to pay a running back while not in "win-now" mode, but they also don't want to trade him for assets. JT's first-round capital should be faded in fantasy drafts, even if we get confirmation that he is staying in Indianapolis.

Bengals RB Trayveon Williams, who was carted off at practice after suffering an injury during ball security drills, is believed to have suffered a mild ankle sprain. He’ll likely miss a couple of weeks, assuming tests confirm the initial diagnosis.

Related Players: Chase Brown, Chris Evans

With Samaje Perine in Denver, it's worth keeping an eye on the Bengals' RB2 situation. Williams, Brown, and Evans were each taken in the fifth round or later in the '19, '21, and '23 drafts, so nobody has a leg-up here in terms of draft capital. Evans might get the biggest boost in playing time here, but that would likely only be for one or two preseason games.

Zack Moss broke his forearm, putting his Week 1 availability into question.

Jonathan Taylor is already on the PUP list, which shines an even bigger light on the depth of the team's RB room. Fifth-round rookie Evan Hull has suddenly become interesting.

After a conversation in his owner's bus, Jonathan Taylor is looking to motor out of Indy. The All-Pro running back requested a trade following a meeting with Jim Irsay on the team bus during Saturday's training camp session, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported. Taylor, who is currently on the physically unable to perform list, wants a contract extension that puts him in line with the league's highest-paid running backs, but the Colts have not yet made a contract offer, according to Rapoport.

Related Players: Zack Moss, Evan Hull

"We're not trading Jonathan ... end of discussion," Jim Irsay texted Albert Breer. "Not now and not in October!"

It doesn't seem like a trade would pick up steam without another team absolutely overpaying for the services of the running back. Taylor is set up as a top-10 fantasy RB but his upside might be capped in an offense that may not be great.

Bengals coach Zac Taylor on Joe Burrow: Calf strain. It’ll take several weeks.

Related Players: Trevor Siemian, Jake Browning

Burrow suffered the injury yesterday while rolling to his right with no one around him when he pulled up. He went directly to the ground and didn't get up until the cart approached. Calf strain is the best possible scenario, but this timeline also puts him up against a Week 1 start. There's a chance we see a free-agent signing to compete in a camp battle, which isn't the greatest news for the Bengals' offense as a whole. We'll keep an eye on the situation for further developments.

Joe Burrow pulled up with a non-contact lower leg injury during today's Bengals practice and was carted off the field.

Related Players: Trevor Siemian, Jake Browning

Burrow suffered the injury while rolling to his right with no one around him when he pulled up. He went directly to the ground and didn't get up until the cart approached. It's unknown the severity of the injury but the quarterback tore his left ACL and MCL during the 2020 season that put him on IR from Week 11-on.

The Bengals and RB Joe Mixon are finalizing a restructured contract that will keep him in Cincinnati for the 2023 season. Mixon was due $10.1 million this season with a $12.791M cap number. The new deal frees up cash and cap for Cincinnati, and Mixon stays as RB1.

Related Players: Trayveon Williams, Chase Brown, Chris Evans

Congratulations to those who stayed the course this offseason and selected Mixon when he dropped consistently into the sixth round in drafts. Mixon should be considered a high-upside RB2 for the 2023 season.

Zac Taylor and OC Brian Callahan repeatedly brought up Trayveon Williams when asked about Samaje Perine's replacement

Lines like "The more investment we've given him with playing time, the more he's paid off"

Related Players: Chris Evans

With the legal issues still hanging over Joe Nixon's head, this is incredibly important from a fantasy perspective. Perine had a large roll in the offense that increased even further in the NFL Playoffs. Williams is being drafted a huge 50 picks after Chase Brown in current Underdog drafts, and 16 picks after Chris Evans.

Even if wele don't boost Williams way up the rankings, we should be keeping our eye on this situation.