3 Bengals Players to Watch Closely Against Bears in Preseason

The Cincinnati Bengals face the Chicago Bears in their second preseason game of the season on Saturday night at 7 pm. The two teams held a joint practice on Thursday, where we got a real glimpse of what the Bengals and Bears starters looked like against one another. 

Cincinnati’s defensive line had a great day, especially Dexter Lawrence, who had a pass break-up leading to an interception. Joe Burrow went 16-for-25 through the air with multiple scores in the red zone. 

The Bengals starters won't play the Bears on Saturday night, so it's a huge opportunity for rookies to keep gaining experience and show the coaching staff what they can do. Here’s who I’ll be on the lookout for. 

TE Jack Endries

Endries had a great first preseason game with multiple catches and a score. The former Texas Longhorn was a late-round pick, but he looked like he belonged and even excelled in yards after the catch, breaking multiple tackles for a 17-yard gain against the Detroit Lions. 

Cincinnati’s tight end room is loaded, with Mike Gesicki, Drew Sample, Tanner Hudson, and Erick All all ahead of Endries. But multiple of them have contracts expiring after this season. All Endries needs to show is that he’s someone who can be relied on as a pass catcher, and the Bengals could invest in him in the future. 

LB Joe Giles-Harris

Giles-Harris was all over the field against the Lions, leading the Bengals with nine tackles, including six solo tackles. He also had a tackle for loss, which helped him vault ahead of Shaka Heyward on the latest depth chart. He was signed to a one-year deal in January and has put himself in a position to be a part of that second group of linebackers behind Barrett Carter and Demetrius Knight Jr. Obviously, with uncertainty around Carter and Knight Jr., Giles-Harris is in a spot where he could play a big role in the defense this season. 

C Connor Lew

It’s trending toward Lew being the center of the future for Cincinnati after they spent a pretty premium pick on the former Auburn Tiger. 

He did not play against Detroit according to PFF, but took snaps with the first team in practice on August 11th as he's coming off an ACL injury. Whether he plays or not is something to monitor. 

How he handles interior pressure will be something to watch, but the biggest unknown with centers is how they handle checks at the line of scrimmage and react to defensive stunts. 

Look for Zac Taylor’s comments on Lew after the game for how the rookie reacted to basically leading the offensive line on Saturday.