Zac Taylor Gives Reasoning For Cutting Bengals' 2026 Minicamp Short

The Bengals are done with on-field team reps until the start of training camp next month. Head coach Zac Taylor gave reasoning behind cutting out the final two days of Minicamp on Wednesday.

Cincinnati has put in more than adequate work, and the install is complete. Taylor felt they were at a "point of diminishing returns" continuing to practice without pads this week.

"A decision I made last week, really, we've gotten everything we want to get done. We got all the installs in," Taylor noted to the media. "I thought the guys did a great job getting the work in on the field since really late April, when we started meeting and lifting, and then all the field work we've done in May and June, we accomplished everything we set out to accomplish.

"I thought the coaches had utilized every minute we're on the field. I thought they did a great job with the practice plans and the reps, so I just felt like we were in a good space and ended on a high note. These guys come back in late July."

Taylor isn't trying to spam practices just to have them checked off the board.

"We've been on the field for a good amount of time and got a lot of good work in," Taylor continued. "We're not overly physical with the 11-on-11 stuff, and so at some point you just reach a point of diminishing returns where you're out there, and we've accomplished a lot of work, and now it's time to come back and be ready to roll."

Drama Free Summer

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor talks about newly signed defense tackle Dexter Lawrence in a press conference at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati on Monday, April 20, 2026. | Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Cincinnati can only control so many things on the outside, and there are none of those distractions this season.

Every player showed up ready to work at Minicamp, and the team is ahead of schedule on the chemistry front. Now, the whole group needs to stay focused over the next month and enter the hot summer dog days as healthy as possible.

"It's a great thing. A lot of the drama, oftentimes, is outside drama," Taylor said about no distractions. "Inside, we're usually pretty clean with it. Guys go about their business, but I feel like everybody's really focused, showed up, got the work in that we needed to get, and so now it's time to move on."

The next phase of the offseason is really the end of the offseason. Training camp is on deck at the end of next month outside Paycor Stadium.

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