Samaje Perine Knows Why He’s Back With the Cincinnati Bengals for a Third Stint, and This Time He’s Accepting of It

CINCINNATI – Back for his third stint with the Cincinnati Bengals, running back Samaje Perine knows what to expect.

And it’s not a heavy share of the carries with Chase Brown.

“I know how to block and catch,” Perine said Thursday after officially signing his two-year, $3.6 million contract.

“It’s simple,” Perine added. “That’s really what it comes down to. You have to block and protect (Joe) Burrow. And if he needs you to catch the ball, make sure you can catch the ball and you’ll be all right.”

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It’s not that a small share of the carries is going to be new to Perine. It’s just that this time it’s something he expects.

In Perine’s first stint with the team in 2019, he didn’t log a single carry and ended up finishing the year with the Miami Dolphins.

He returned to the Bengals on waivers in 2020, and despite Joe Mixon suffering a season-ending foot injury in Week 5, he only logged 19 percent of the carries while Giovani Bernard got the bulk of the work.

During the Super Bowl season in 2021, Perine had 14.5 percent of the carries. The following year, it balanced out some with his share rising to 29 percent.

He thought he was going to get a shot at even more by signing with the Denver Broncos in 2023 despite the Bengals offering a similar contract.

But he only got 53 carries (15 percent) in Sean Payton’s first season as Denver head coach.

Asked what it was like playing for Payton, Perine said “It was definitely interesting. I’ll leave it at that.”

Perine signed with Kansas City last year and said he loved playing for Andy Reid, even though he logged only 20 carries (4.5 percent).

Despite that low number, Perine said he felt as though he grew his game significantly with the Chiefs.

“Just becoming a more proficient blocker,” Perine said. “I wasn't a bad blocker necessarily, third down back-wise, but doing that predominantly the last two years, I've been able tweak some things and get better at that.”

Pro Football Focus ranked Perine 17th out of 49 qualifying running backs in pass protection last year.

And Perine said another thing he took away from his time with the Chiefs and their run to the Super Bowl was how no one on that offense ever gave up on a play, which is something that translates to how Burrow is able to extend plays.

“The Chiefs offense, they thrive when Pat (Mahomes) is outside of the pocket,” Perine said. “I heard a few interviews from Burrow last year that that was part of the game that he's been working on. So I think just being in tuned and knowing what the quarterback is thinking when they break the pocket, that was a big thing with KC's offense.

“I feel like I learned a lot,” he added. “Not necessarily Xs and Os, but just being able to be on the same page and knowing to never give up on a play, even if you're back side. He can always make something happen. And Burrow having the arm that he does, he can definitely make a lot of those plays.”

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Perine is the second player in Bengals history to have three different stints with a team interrupted by playing for a different teams (offensive tackle Andre Smith was the first).

“I’ve always wanted to come back,” he said.

Running back Stanley Wilson had three stints in the 1980s, but those were separated by year-long suspensions for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.

While blocking is something Perine excels at, it wasn’t exactly a deficiency for Chase Brown last year, as PFF ranked him13th last year.

But the goal for the Bengals is not to use him as often moving forward.

Perine will be an ideal complement as a blocker and receiver for Burrow on third downs, and potentially in four-minute situations when the Bengals are in clock-killing mode with the lead.

He’ll turn 30 before the season starts and is accepting what his role is going to be with the Bengals.

Perine already has been to two Super Bowls (56 with Cincinnati in 2021 and 59 with Kansas City last month).

But he said winning a Super Bowl wasn’t the biggest reason he’s making a third trip back to Cincinnati.

“Obviously everyone wants to win the Super Bowl. A Super Bowl would be great to add to my football career,” Perine said. “But I don't think it's a driving factor for me.

“It’s just going out there every day and having fun,” he added. “I still love the game. I still have fun on the day-to-day grind. So I think that's really what it is, just to see how far I can go personally to continue to push myself to play at a high level. That is the motivating factor for me.”

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