Bengals’ first-round draft pick guaranteed a starting role
The Cincinnati Bengals' first-round draft pick finally joined his new teammates at training camp on Tuesday, after inking his five-year deal. Jermaine Gresham could not afford to miss any more practice time because he is the projected starter for the 2010 season, and things are a little different in the National Football League than at the collegiate level.
In other words, he has a lot to learn. When a rookie, let alone a first round draft pick, enters training camp with their new team, they all want to be in the starting lineup as quickly as possible. Cincinnati Bengals' Gresham seems to come from a different school of thought and is the lone exception to that rule when he found out that he was number one on the depth chart.
“That shouldn't be," Gresham said. "That's stuff that should be earned, and I haven't earned anything here. I mean, I just got to camp and I haven't earned anything. For right now, there's four guys ahead of me, and they deserve to be ahead of me because they've been putting in the time and going through the (camp)."
Gresham is referring to the fact the he has missed six days of camp and eight practices because of contract negotiations. Maybe so, but the Bengals have not had a decent tight end in recent memory and addressed that issue during this year’s draft. The passing game finished 26th in the league out of 32 teams, and Cincinnati is in dire need of a passing threat in the middle of the field and in the short passing game, to take some pressure away from Chad Johnson and newly acquired Terrell Owens.
But Gresham was not oblivious to the fact that he needs every moment in camp to get better and improve his game to NFL standards. "I missed too many blocks," he said. "That's the one thing that stands out."
The rookie will have a few days to correct his mistakes before he gets his first taste in the pros. Gresham is expected to play during the Bengals' pre-season opener against the Dallas Cowboys in the Hall of Fame game on Sunday night. Gresham did end practice on a positive note during the team’s goal-line drill after catching a touchdown pass from quarterback Carson Palmer. "Knowing what I do now going through the week, he should have a good opportunity to play in the game Sunday evening and go from there," coach Marvin Lewis said.
The Bengals are banking that their 21st pick and top rated tight end in the draft will provide glimpses of his former days in Oklahoma where he excelled as a Sooner. His most noteworthy season came in 2008 which saw him rack up 66 receptions for 950 yards and 14 touchdowns.
The Bengals took a chance by drafting Gresham, because he missed the entire 2009 season due to a season-ending knee injury prior to the first game.
His knee brace during Tuesday’s practice was the only indication that he had surgery to repair torn cartilage in his right knee in October.
Bengals’ offensive co-ordinator, Bob Bratkowski, believes that the rookie continued training prior to arriving at camp and feels for the most part that Gresham will soon get back into football shape.
"It's hard to tell in one practice," Bratkowski said. "You'll see over time — I'd say you give him three or four practices and you'll be able to tell. But he looked like he's been doing things. You can tell if someone's done absolutely nothing, and it's obvious he's been doing something."
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