First of all, special teams coach Darrin Simmons has no more of an idea about his punt returners for this upcoming season than he did in May.
“I try to replicate game situations as closely as I can, but it’s not close,” Simmons said before Monday’s practice. “You have to see what they do in a game.”
So if you want to know who’s going to be up, start watching in Friday night’s pre-season opener (7:30-Cincinnati’s Channel 12) at Paul Brown Stadium against the Vikings. When the Bengals’ first depth chart came out Monday morning, it was no surprise that for the sixth straight year Brandon Tate and Adam Jones are listed as the top two punt returners.