'I'm Gonna Rock Out' - Bengals Rookie Cornerback Josh Newton Fired Up for Starting Opportunity.

Jay Morrison | Nov 26, 2024

Nov 17, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Josh Newton (28) reacts after breaking up a pass intended for Los Angeles Chargers wide receiver Joshua Palmer (5) during the second half at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images / Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

CINCINNATI – One of the biggest topics of conversation Monday when the Cincinnati Bengals returned from their bye week was the reappearance of the ping pong tables.

Spirited competitions on the pair of tables began immediately after practice, even though there were no more meetings and players were free to leave.

Meanwhile in the back corner of the room, rookie cornerback Josh Newton sat in his locker answering questions about his new role as a starter on a struggling defense, a promotion necessitated by the loss of DJ Turner to a broken clavicle.

After covering topics such as the pressure of the promotion, his performance when pressed into action last week against the Los Angeles Chargers and the difference between playing in the slot vs. outside corner, Newton was asked about his ping pong game.

“I don’t play ping pong. I just play DB,” he said.

The fifth-round pick from TCU made it clear he is locked in on the huge opportunity that awaits him Sunday afternoon against the Pittsburgh Steelers as the reeling Bengals try to climb out of a 4-7 hole.

Sunday will be his first NFL start, and it comes on Thanksgiving weekend.

But Newton isn’t inviting his family into town for a celebration as though it’s something special.

“I'm not trying to downplay the situation,” he said. “I know I'm a rookie and not everybody gets this opportunity their rookie year, especially with how I'm coming in as a fifth-rounder.

“But I'm laser focused,” he added. “This is what I work for. I'm just staying dialed in.”

Nothing will drive home that sort of determination like trying to cover Ja’Marr Chase, which Newton got his first experience with Monday.

The Bengals went “good on good” – starters against starters – Monday in their first action back from the bye.

That’s something typically reserved for training camp. Once teams get into the season, the starting offense goes against the scout team defense and vice versa.

“It was just to get everybody's competitive spirit (going) and get everybody back. It's testosterone,” Newton said. “We're back, and everything is through the roof.”

Head coach Zac Taylor downplayed that notion and said not to read anything into it from an overarching perspective.

“It was just 7-on-7, so it wasn't 11-on-11 or anything like that,” Taylor said. “I wouldn't read too much into it. Sometimes it's the most efficient way just to get the reps in and kind of get the 1s more reps so to go good-on-good was a way to do that.”

But Newton never got a chance to go against Chase in training camp while the star receiver was “holding in” as part of his contract dispute.

So he said the “good-on-good” work was as meaningful as it gets for him.

“When you're out there going against No. 9, 1 and 5, I mean there's no better opportunity for you to get better,” he said of Joe Burrow, Chase and Tee Higgins.

“If you want to be considered a top guy, you've got to be able to stop top guys like those,” Newton added. “That's maybe the best receiving tandem in the league, and I get to go against them every day. There's nothing but excitement.”

While Turner’s injury locked in Newton’s opportunity as a starter, the rookie might have secured the job regardless.

Defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo benched Cam Taylor-Britt in favor of Newton in the first half of the 34-27 loss in Los Angeles.

If anything, the Turner injury may be a bigger opportunity for Taylor-Britt than Newton because the rookie played well against the Chargers, helping create the opening for the offense to make a 21-point comeback to tie the game.

“Josh came in and competed at a high level,” Anarumo said. “He made some plays on the ball in some critical situations. The first two-minute stop was a great play on an over route. That's a hard thing for a DB in Cover 1. So I was pleased to see that.

“He got his hands on some balls,” Anarumo continued. “He was tight in coverage even when they caught it.”

Aside from his play, it’s his approach that has Anarumo the most impressed.

The intensity he brings every day, whether it’s covering Chase or Tee Higgins or doing a post-practice interview in the locker room.

“His energy levels off the charts, he's as tough as they come and he just thinks that no one can beat him,” Anarumo said. “His mental approach is terrific. So let's start with that. He really goes about his everyday business of, ‘I want to be the best player I can be every day.’

“I can't say enough about him on his approach to all of it,” he added. “So it wasn't a total surprise that he went out there and did what he did, to be quite honest. I'm happy he did, and happy he'll have that confidence that, ‘Hey, I can do this at this level.”

Newton said he’s felt that way since training camp, when he worked his way into some starting reps at times, both in the slot and at outside corner as the coaching staff occasionally worked him into the equation when trying to settle the position battle between Turner and Dax Hill, who won the job but is out for the season with an ACL injury.

Asked if there was one play that let him know he belonged, the rookie offered another veteran-type answer full of intensity and determination.

“I don't want to pinpoint one play,” he said. “It ain't about just one play. You've got to make a bunch of plays to get on the field in the NFL. So I really don't want to highlight just one. It’s all the plays I made that I feel like put me in the situation to where I am now.”

Despite the nature of the situation making it obvious, Newton wasn't ready to call himself a starter.

"If that's what it is, that's what it is," he said. "I'm gonna rock out."

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