During the first day of Bengals minicamp Lions Sylvester Williams Jersey , the offense ran through new plays.

A day later, some of them were gone.

Offensive coordinator Bill Lazor decided they didn’t look as good on the field as they did in his overhauled play book.

”You keep moving, keep evolving,” Lazor said Wednesday before practice. ”That’s what we’re in the process of doing.”

Cincinnati’s offense is a work in progress, a year after it finished last in the league for the first time in franchise history.

Lazor was elevated to interim coordinator after Ken Zampese was fired two games into the season. He’s been retained and given discretion to redesign the playbook.

Players say the terminology and some of the play designs have changed significantly. Fans and the rest of the league won’t start noticing the differences until the season begins. For now, the staff is trying to get the offense into a final form.

Lazor decided on a major overhaul after the Bengals’ 7-9 finish, their second straight losing season. The offense was bad all-around, with Andy Dalton getting little time to throw and the running backs finding little room to run behind a struggling offense line.

”I don’t know if we have enough time to talk about what didn’t go the way we wanted,” Lazor said. ”We’ve got to focus on the now.”

One emphasis in minicamp is setting a standard for practice and encouraging players to hold each other accountable.

”We just keep putting it in front of them: This is our standard,” Lazor said ”This is what we want to establish and what we expect in practice, and continue to put it on the players to help hold each other accountable. To me, the greatest thing we’ve done as a group right now is set the standard.”

Lazor has noticed a different atmosphere since the new playbook was installed.

”I think it got a lot of the players’ attention, just got people going Jaguars Logan Cooke Jersey ,” he said.

SOCCER FEVER: Defensive end Carlos Dunlap was delighted to hear that North America won the bid to host the 2026 World Cup. Dunlap grew up playing soccer and basketball in South Carolina – his mother didn’t allow him to become a football player until eighth grade – and he’s attended FC Cincinnati games.

Dunlap is excited about the possibility of attending a World Cup game.

”I’ve tossed it around many times, going over there to see World Cup because the energy they have at their games and stadiums is second to none – unless it’s us against the Pittsburgh Steelers, or the Florida Gators against Georgia in the Cocktail Party,” said Dunlap, who attended Florida. ”It rivals those.”

STILL NO EIFERT: Tight end Tyler Eifert missed a second straight day of practice because of an undisclosed injury. He wasn’t available in the open locker room period, and coach Marvin Lewis declined to provide any specifics. Eifert was on the field in a jersey, but didn’t have a helmet or participate in drills. Eifert signed an incentive-laden, one-year deal after being limited to two games last season because of chronic back problems.

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Baker Mayfield stood 15 yards away from a semicircle of cameras with a member of Cleveland's media relations staff as Browns starting quarterback Tyrod Taylor was peppered with questions.

Mayfield held his ground and waited his turn in line.

For now, this is life for the No. 1 overall draft pick 鈥?and the No. 2 QB in Cleveland.

Along with learning a new playbook, offensive system, football-obsessed city and everything else that comes with being a rookie, Mayfield is getting a crash course in patience in the initial stages of his NFL career.

He's a backup, and unless there's a dramatic change over the next two months Vita Vea Jersey , it will likely be Mayfield's role this season for the Browns.

"I'm not worried about it," Mayfield said when asked if he felt like a backup. "I'm just trying to get better every day. We're still early in June, this is just the second minicamp day and so I'm not worried about that now."

This is new, and yet not unfamiliar territory for Mayfield, who went from being a walk-on at Oklahoma to a gun-slinging, trash-talking Heisman Trophy winner last season.

The Browns drafted him first to be their long-term starter, their franchise QB, their franchise's face. But right now, Mayfield is slotted behind Taylor, who took Buffalo to the playoffs last season and has been so impressive during his first few months in Cleveland.

Mayfield is not only accepting his role, but he's modeling himself after Taylor. It's easy now because the season seems far away and each day brings a new challenge to overcome.

But when training camp rolls around next month, Mayfield knows it's going to be much harder to accept that he's not the one taking snaps with Cleveland's starters.

"It's human nature," Mayfield said. "Yeah Derrick Nnadi Jersey Elite , you want to play, but I wasn't brought here to just start. I was brought here to help turn this thing around and whatever my role is that's what I need to do 鈥?whether that's playing scout team or being the best backup possible or playing. So for me, I'm not worried about that. I need to be prepared for when I do get my shot to be ready to play, but other than that I just gotta continue getting better and improving this team as well."

Mayfield believes he's made significant strides since rookie minicamp. With each practice, he senses the game slowing down. He's getting more confident in the pocket. He's seeing the field. He's deciphering complicated defenses.

He's better, but Mayfield is far from being a finished product.

"Human nature, especially for me, I want to have it all figured out all right now, but that is just not how it works," he said. "It is about realizing that we are going to have to take baby steps right now to get to where I want to go. You do not build a great castle all at once. You have to build it block by block. For me, that is how I need to handle it."

Taylor does, too. He was once in Mayfield's shoes, sitting behind Joe Flacco in Baltimore. He also knows how quickly things can change after being benched last season by the Bills despite having them in the playoff race.

Taylor has been impressed with Mayfield's thirst to improve.

"He is asking questions Ian Thomas Color Rush Jersey ," Taylor said. "He is trying to learn the playbook, as well as everyone else is. He is competing. He is a rookie. He is trying to gain as much knowledge as possible."

Mayfield's getting some major help from veteran quarterback Drew Stanton, who is serving as a mentor/tutor for the 23-year-old.

It's a role the 34-year-old Stanton has performed and excelled at previously while working with Matthew Stafford and Carson Palmer, both former top overall picks.

Like Taylor, Stanton feels Mayfield has all the intangibles to succeed.

"He has a great mindset," Stanton said. "Just coming in here, wanting to work and get better and learn how to do all those things. He's asking questions that are relevant. He's engaged and he's doing it the right way, so I think it's a relationship that will continue to progress over a period of time. It's not just something you build overnight, but he has all those tools that you're excited about. Obviously, there's a reason why he was drafted No. 1 overall."
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