Cincinnati Bengals Training Camp Day 2 Recap: Young Linebackers Team Up for Rare Interception of Joe Burrow

Demetrius Knight Jr. wants to be happy. He really does. But the Cincinnati Bengals linebacker has learned enough about Joe Burrow in their short time as teammates that he knows what is coming next.

Knight turned in one of the biggest plays Thursday on the second day of training camp when he stepped in front of Ja’Marr Chase and intercepted a Burrow pass.

“It’s good and bad,” Knight said after practice. “It was great to make a play, but right now I’m trying to keep my distance from No. 9 because you know he’s a little frustrated right now. You can see it on his face.

“So no telling what he’s gonna come at us with tomorrow,” Knight added. “He’ll be ready to get it back in blood.”

Any time a player intercepts Burrow it’s noteworthy, but what made this place especially so is the tandem effort from Knight and fellow 2025 draft class member Barrett Carter.

Thrust into starting roles as rookies on a bad defense, Knight and Carter shouldered a lot of the criticism for the Bengals abysmal performances.

But the coaching staff and front office continued to voice their belief in the two and didn’t do anything to add to the linebacker position in free agency or the draft.

So seeing Carter come free on a blitz to get in Burrow’s face, resulting in him not seeing Knight sitting on Chase’s route, was a significant moment for the young linebackers, and the defense as a whole.

Knight compared this training camp to reading a book for the second time.

“You pick up stuff that you didn't see,” he said. “Because you have a year under your belt, you understand what's going on and you're able to play to those levels into the defense.

“How can manipulate guys – like No. 9, the best in the world – into being a little hesitant? Everything is timing for quarterbacks. So if we can throw him off by a pre-snap look and change into the post-snap look, that gives all those guys up front an extra chance to get home.”

Play of the Day II

The Knight pick obviously was the Play of the Day, but there was another one worthy that can’t just fall by the wayside.

Noah Thomas, a rookie undrafted receiver from Georgia, fought off excellent coverage from D.J. Ivey IV to not only high point the ball, but he caught it twice.

Ivey was able to rip it free as the two went to the ground, but Thomas was able to reach behind Ivey and pin the ball against his helmet for the catch.

“That was sick,” receiver Andrei Iosivas said.

Catch of the day made by number 17 Noah Thomas with DJ Ivey in tight coverage pic.twitter.com/2vTkYN9PgZ
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) July 30, 2026

Here’s another look

CATCH OF THE DAY‼️🤯

Bengals rookie UDFA WR Noah Thomas (Georgia) just hauled in an unbelievable catch here at day 2 of Training Camp, on a great ball from Joe Flacco.

Watch Thomas hold onto the ball on top of DJ Ivey’s helmet.

Insane concentration from the young rook. @WDTN pic.twitter.com/k3Asxxjbvj
— Joey DeBerardino (@JoeyDeBerardino) July 30, 2026

“Great ball by Joe Flacco,” Thomas said of the pass. “I am going to go up and go get it every time.”

Ja’Marr Chase called Thomas “another Tee Higgins.”

“We've got somebody else to go there and get a jump ball,” Chase said. “I don't really get jump balls like that. Joe usually leads me out in front. But seeing it from the younger guys and seeing what kind of catches they can make – contested catches – that's what we need.”

Ivey said there wasn’t much else he could do other than tip his cap to Thomas on such an outstanding grab.

“It's definitely frustrating because you always want to make the play, and I was right there to make the interception,” Ivey said. “But he made a better play. That's part of football. Just get up and play the next play. But I'd definitely like to have that one back.”

Quote of the Day

“Shemar Stewart yesterday fortunately avoided a major injury. He hyperextended his knee. It’ll be several weeks. Hard to pinpoint exactly how much into training camp that will be. But very fortunate, because it obviously looked very bad and he’s put in a lot of work. It was hard to see him go down like that. But the good news is we’ll be getting him back sooner rather than later.”

That was Bengals coach Zac Taylor addressing the media after practice with an updated on the team’s 2025 first-round pick who was carted off the field midway through Wednesday’s first practice of training camp.

Roll Call

Defensive tackle Jonathan Allen did not practice in what was assumed to be a vet day. He was present for the duration of the practice.

Shemar Stewart (knee), B.J. Hill (Physically Unable to Perform list) and Eric Kattus (Non-Football Injury list) also did not practice.

3 Up

Charlie Jones

He’s made a handful of plays through the first two days of camp, including a diving catch of a deep ball from Flacco on Thursday.

Although in live action, Flacco never would have got the pass off as Landon Robinson and Cashius Howell would have sandwiched the quarterback for a sack.

Erick All Jr.

The tight end isn’t doing as much as he would like, but he’s seeing a lot of action as he works back into the mix following a pair of ACL surgeries.

But the real reason he finds himself on this list is the insane story he told after practice about getting hit and thrown by a three-wheel truck.

Tee Higgins

The receiver played toss with some young kids prior to the start of practice, giving them no doubt a wonderful lifelong memory.

3 Down

Ceyair Wright

The young cornerback nearly committed the cardinal sin of just making contact with the quarterback but hitting him low. Wright slipped on a pass rush and went down near the feet of Flacco.

Front-row fans

A couple of fans got a little closer to the action than they expected when tight end Mike Gesicki lunged for a pass along the sideline and wasn’t able to stop his momentum, sliding hard into the group of people lined up along the rope.

Mike Brown’s golf cart

Parked along the sideline between the two main fields, the golf cart offered less than ideal cushion as safety PJ Jules slammed into it after defending a deep ball and tumbling out of bounds.

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