Carman could earn his big chance with Bengals
As Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor was explaining the progress he had seen from rookie offensive guard Jackson Carman, he remembered answering the same questions about a different Bengals rookie earlier this year.
During training camp, Taylor answered questions about rookie wide receiver Ja’marr Chase’s drops and his ability to create separation against NFL cornerbacks. Then Chase caught two deep touchdown passes in his first two NFL games.
According to Taylor, Chase’s experience in training camp wasn’t dissimilar to Carman’s.
“These guys got to make mistakes early on,” Taylor said. “It takes guys a minute to get adjusted to life in this league and how we practice and the competition we’re playing against. We sat here and talked about Ja’marr for four weeks and the challenges he had in training camp. Every position is a little bit different, but you’ve got to be patient with him, and it’s going to come.”
This could be the week that Carman gets that opportunity. Starting right guard Xavier Su’a-filo missed practice on Wednesday with a knee injury, and
Taylor said Su’a-filo is day-to-day. Carman is the first guard off the bench.
Carman received first-team reps during the first week of training camp, but he slid to the third team before the first preseason game.
Carman used his reps in practice to develop his technique, and he often stayed after practice to repeat footwork drills.
It took longer than the Bengals coaching staff was hoping for, but Carman supplanted offensive guard D’ante Smith and former Bengals offensive guard Michael Jordan by the end of the preseason.