A tip of a Cincy Hat to Bengals rookie center Matt Lee after he took every snap last Saturday in Chicago and didn’t allow a pressure.
Ted Karras, the starting center and author of the Cincy Hat project, noticed.
“He’s a guy that’s done all the right things enough to play his way onto an NFL roster,” Karras said after Monday’s practice. “That’s important for this program and this organization. As a 31-year-old center with two years left on my contract, to have a guy in the pipeline has to be a relief for upstairs. As Bengals fans, I’d be thrilled to have a guy like that in the pipeline. Both our rookie offensive linemen are going to be around a long time.”
Right tackle Amarius Mims, the first-rounder, is still out with a strained shoulder. Lee, the seventh-rounder, isn’t going to take over for Karras tomorrow, but he’ll be in the middle of it again pushing for that roster spot in Thursday’s preseason finale (8 p.m.-Amazon Prime) against the Colts at Paycor Stadium.
He’s riding momentum with the confidence of Saturday underneath him.
“It was pretty cool to go against the Ones from another team. You don’t do that all the time in training camp, so to be able to do it against another team’s Ones for two or three drives felt good,” said Lee, who feels he can play up here. “From a physical matchup standpoint, I think I can.”
Lee is going to keep impressing the vets with his strength. On Saturday, former Bengals defensive tackle Andrew Billings, a 311-pounder now running with the Bears’ Ones, got a taste from the 6-4, 301-pound Lee.
“For a center his size, his anchor (is impressive),” Karras said. “He’s got strength I don’t think he initially gets credit for. I think he’s been a willing rookie to learn and asks anyone questions, but not in a corny way, and using that information to help him win blocks.”
Lee is going to keep doing what he does.
“There’s a lot of good stuff and a lot of…
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