Paul Dehner Jr.

pdehnerjr@enquirer.com

The moment the preseason schedule came out, the announcement probably could have come. The connection between Mike Zimmer’s Vikings and the Cincinnati Bengals joining together for extra days of work was a no-brainer.

The Bengals will host the Vikings for two days of joint practices prior to the first preseason game at Paul Brown Stadium.

From Aug. 10-11, the two teams will practice against each other prior to the preseason game on Aug. 12. This marks the second consecutive season the Bengals will host their first preseason opponent prior to the opener. They did the same for two days against the New York Giants last season.

"Like I told the players and coaches, we have to get some of the guys that are backup guys and bubble guys, we've got to get them in the game early against the good players," Bengals defensive coordinator Paul Guenther said. "That's why it's going to be good for us to practice against Minnesota, like last year when we had the Giants. We can see them going against their first-team guys because they are going to be playing against first-team guys on Sundays."

The Aug. 10 practice will begin at 3 p.m., and the Aug. 11 practice is to begin at 11 a.m.

“Our past experiences with joint practices have been good,” Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said in a statement. “You put yourself on the field with another team and let the competitive juices flow a little bit. And it’s great that we could work this out with 'Zim.'”

The connections in Minnesota run deep. Zimmer spent six seasons as Cincinnati defensive coordinator with Lewis and still owns property where he hunts on the outskirts of the city.

As for any possibility of issues between the two teams, Zimmer put those to rest with a joke when questioned by Minnesota media on Thursday.

"There won't be any issues that way because they know I'll still get after them, too," he said.

Former pupil Adam Jones, who still talks with Zimmer, expects nothing less.

"I’m quite sure he’s going to be coaching both sides of the ball," Jones said. "Zim is one of those guys he’s going to let you know when you’re doing something wrong or right. It will be a great time for us as far as learning and competing against someone else besides ourselves. We’ll know each other pretty good, so it will be pretty funny."

Zimmer will bring with him a host of former Bengals players. Cornerback Terence Newman, offensive lineman Andre Smith and linebacker Emmanuel Lamur all played in Cincinnati in recent years.

Emmanuel Lamur signs with Vikings

Also, tight end Kyle Rudolph (Elder) will return to his hometown for the week.

As teams focus on limiting injury possibility during training camp and practice limitations were put in place for the new CBA in 2011, the popularity of joint practices has skyrocketed. Cincinnati also went through two days of joint practices in Atlanta against the Falcons in 2013. Lewis has stated in the past a desire to link with coaches with a similar understanding of how practices should unfold. To be certain, that’s the case with Zimmer.

Paul Guenther shifts out of Mike Zimmer’s shadow