'I Feel Really Confident' - Bengals LT Orlando Brown Jr. Talks Bad Rep Vs. Lions, Camp Performance Overall

Cincinnati Bengals left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. knows his performance Thursday night in the preseason opener against the Detroit Lions wasn’t acceptable.

But at the same time, he’s not dwelling on it or framing it as more than just a snapshot of a couple of isolated bad plays.

“I feel really confident,” Brown said. “Normally at this time I would feel a lot more rusty than I have. But at this point, I feel pretty good.”

His worst rep in the 16-14 win against the Lions was his and quarterback Joe Burrow’s last of the night.

It was a third-and-4 play at the Detroit 38-yard line when Lions undrafted rookie Eric O’Neill ran around Brown and drilled Burrow just as he released a pass that fluttered beyond intended target Mike Gesicki for an incompletion.

Eric O'Neill's QB hit against Orlando Brown Jr to help the Lions defense hold Cincy to a FG in last night's preseason opener. O'Neill's contact balance and quickness negated the pseudo-jump by Brown.#Lions #Detroit pic.twitter.com/J82CbKJPy7
— All 22 Films (@All_22_NFL_Cuts) August 14, 2026

“That’s not what we wanted to happen,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said.

“You get your feet wet. That’s football,” Burrow said, downplaying it.

Brown said the jump set he used on the play isn’t something he normally employs. And when he does, it has to look better than that.

“I gotta do a better job obviously on my jump set and just being clean and making sure that there isn't any type of late leakage like that,” he said. “It's our job to protect Joe, and we take that personal.

“I take it personal, and s--t, that mistake's on me.”

While Taylor addressed the two hits Burrow took against Detroit – Ahmed Hassanein beat Dalton Risner on a stunt for a sack on the opening drive – he made more to say about Brown overall camp performance in his news conference before Saturday’s practice

“"I think he's motivated to give us the best version of himself,” Taylor said. “He's been a strong leader on this team, and I think anytime something doesn't go perfectly, he wears it and takes ownership for it.

“Any time Joe gets hit, all those guys are trying to figure out what they can do better,” Taylor added. “We all are. None of us want to be in that position. And there's things that we can always do to help those guys work."

A few minutes later when the Bengals hit the field for Saturday’s practice, Jalen Rivers was playing left tackle instead of guard, where the Bengals moved him about this point last year as a fifth-round rookie.

Rivers played left tackle in the first preseason game against the Eagles before the team switched him to guard for the rest of the season.

But Rivers’ return to left tackle isn’t indicative of a plan to create competition with Brown, a four-time Pro Bowler who signed a two-year extension this offseason. It’s a move of necessity because the battle for the swing tackle job has been a disappointment, with neither Cody Ford, Javon Foster nor Andrew Coker inspiring confidence.

Brown said he feels good about what he’s shown in camp thus far.

“I feel like there’s areas I’ve definitely gotten a lot better in,” he said. “I’m really confident in just where my fundamentals are.

“(Last year) there were some new fundamentals that we were learning with (offensive line coach Scott Peters) and understanding some of the mid-zone stuff, the timing with the backs,” Browns said. “Even in pass protection, some of the nuances that we were working on. But man, I feel like we're in a lot better place. As the season goes, we'll continue to grow, and that continuity will only get better.”

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