CINCINNATI (AP) — A possible contract extension for running back Chase Brown has been one of the underlying questions during Cincinnati Bengals training camp.
With Detroit’s Jahmyr Gibbs, Indianapolis' Jonathan Taylor and Atlanta’s Bijan Robinson receiving new deals earlier this week, Brown is hoping he can follow suit.
“It’s huge for them individually, but then the running back market itself, it’s definitely bolstered that up. It’s cool seeing where the position value is going,” Brown said. “I think it pushes up everybody’s market value. I love the way it keeps climbing, and I hope it keeps trending in that direction.”
If Brown gets an extension before the Sept. 13 season opener against Tampa Bay, it must be completed by Labor Day. Director of player personnel Duke Tobin has prioritized signing some 2022 and ’23 draft picks to extensions before the regular season. Besides Brown, safety Dax Hill (a first-round pick in 2022) and cornerback DJ Turner (a second-round pick in 2023) are also on Tobin’s list to re-sign.
Brown, entering his fourth season, is in the same mold as Gibbs and Robinson. All three are talented running backs who are also skilled at catching the ball out of the backfield. Brown was one of five NFL players with at least 1,000 rushing and 400 receiving yards.
Brown’s 123 receptions the past two seasons are fourth among NFL running backs, and his nine receiving touchdowns are tied for second.
“We wouldn’t be as good of an offense as we are and that we plan to be, if we didn’t have Chase,” quarterback Joe Burrow said. “There’s only a couple backs in this league that can do all the things that he does, and probably doesn’t get as many opportunities as he should because of the other guys that we have, but he just makes big plays when he touches it.”
Brown’s 1,456 scrimmage yards last season were an NFL single-season record for a Canadian-born player. The London, Ontario, native also had a franchise record six straight games with at least 100 scrimmage yards.
In his first year as the Bengals’ top back, Brown rushed for 1,019 yards. He started slow in the first six games, averaging 2.7 yards per carry, but averaged 5.7 in the final 11.
“I just want to be a more patient runner, kind of what I was doing in the later half of last season,” he said.
Brown is already a great receiver but said he worked to become more aggressive catching the ball during the offseason. He also believes that with all 11 starters returning, the offense can present more looks and formations, which could help spur the running game.
Samaje Perine is also back as Brown’s backup along with Tahj Brooks, who is going into his second season.
“I feel like there’s a lot that we can get better at as a group and that’s kind of what you figure out as training camp goes on. But I think it has been a good start,” Brown said. “We’re trying to transfer that late-season energy into the start of this year.”
Brown will also be key if the Bengals want to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2022. Cincinnati was 6-11 — including 1-8 when Burrow missed nine games due to turf toe.
“He does everything. He’s a complete back. He can protect. He trains as a receiver all offseason. When you have a guy like that, you don’t have to take him off the field,” Burrow said of Brown. “You can build different packages for him in different places on the field. Obviously we’re going to get the ball in No. 1 (Ja’Marr Chase’s) hands as many times as we can. But I think a close second is Chase Brown just because of how explosive he is and the things he can do with the ball in his hands.”
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Cincinnati Bengals running back Chase Brown (30) carries the ball during practice at the team's NFL football training camp, Wednesday, July 29, 2026, in Cincinnati. (AP Photo/Kareem Elgazzar)
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Conservative Abelardo de la Espriella was sworn in as Colombia’s president Friday, not in the capital as is the tradition, but in the volatile southwestern city of Cali in a move meant to signal his hard-line approach to illegal armed groups operating in the region.
De la Espriella, 48, succeeds Gustavo Petro after winning a close runoff election on June 21 against the outgoing president’s ally, Sen. Iván Cepeda.
De la Espriella, who has never held public office before, ran as an outsider, financing his campaign with the fortune he amassed as a lawyer and businessman. His inauguration, held at a university auditorium before Congress, marks a further shift to the right in the region.
King Felipe VI of Spain, acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche, FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Latin American presidents including Argentina’s Javier Milei, Ecuador’s Daniel Noboa and Chile’s José Antonio Kast all attended.
After the ceremony, de la Espriella plans to travel to a military battalion in Cali to address the troops. He aims to boost the morale of the service members and simultaneously warn the illegal armed groups operating in the area that they must surrender or face being declared “military targets.”
De la Espriella, who calls himself “El Tigre” or “The Tiger,” has pledged to tackle the persistent violence in Colombia by breaking with Petro’s policy of negotiating with armed groups, arguing that the peace process has failed.
Security became the main challenge of the swearing-in ceremony. Authorities deployed several checkpoints to search vehicles, looking for potential suspects or explosives.
Illegal economies, such as drug trafficking and illegal mining, are disputed among groups like the dissident factions of the now-defunct Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia that did not accept the peace agreement signed a decade ago, the Clan del Golfo cartel, and the National Liberation Army guerrilla group.
De la Espriella, a Colombian-American citizen, comes to power after receiving the backing of U.S. President Donald Trump and as regional concerns grow about crime, immigration and the economy.
“His rise to power will reinforce this rightward shift across much of Latin America and consolidate a regional bloc of conservative governments against a dwindling number of left-wing administrations,” Glaeldys González, an analyst with the International Crisis Group for the Andes, told The Associated Press.
De la Espriella has said that his government will unite Colombia with the “Shield of the Americas,” a regional coalition to fight drug trafficking that emerged from the summit held by Trump in March.
He also announced that he will resume diplomatic relations with Israel and sever them with Cuba and Nicaragua, which he considers “tyrannies.”
De la Espriella will face robust opposition from Petro, who at first refused to recognize his electoral victory and insisted on alleged fraud, claiming that results from thousands of tally sheets were manipulated by programmers. The accusations of fraud have been dismissed by international observers as well as electoral authorities in Colombia.
However, the outgoing president left the presidential palace Friday saying he would respect the popular will.
Petro, who did not attend, will be “relentless” and “acerbic” as an opponent, seeking to strengthen his leadership, said political analyst Sergio Guzmán.
Petro has urged social movements in the southwest of the country to organize “people’s militias” to defend themselves against potential attacks from what he called the “fascists,” and called on his supporters to prepare for a general strike should they try to imprison him after he leaves office. Petro was named a “priority target” by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency, the AP reported in March.
These kinds of calls from Petro, coupled with the hard-line approach de la Espriella intends, increase the likelihood of “confrontations during demonstrations or more forceful responses from the authorities,” according to Andrés Macías, a researcher specializing in conflict and peace at Externado University.
In Cali, where Petro has a large following and most voted for Cepeda, social and student organizations protested. Demonstrations also took place in Bogota and Barranquilla.
“Here we are defending dignity, resisting and making it clear that he (de la Espriella) did not win here and we are letting him know it,” Sebastián Ocampo, 25, told the AP while demonstrating in Puerto Resistencia, a residential area of Cali that was the epicenter of massive anti-government protests in 2021.
“There are very divided opinions in Cali ... we are just hoping that the demonstrations will be peaceful,” said Amanda Castro, a 29-year-old merchant from southern Cali.
Follow the AP’s Latin America coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Colombia's President Abelardo de la Espriella salutes after taking the oath of office in Cali, Colombia, Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella arrives for his inauguration in Cali, Colombia, Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)
Colombia's President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella arrives with his family for his inauguration in Cali, Colombia, Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)
Colombia's President Abelardo de la Espriella waves after receiving the presidential sash from Senate President Honorio Henriquez during his inauguration in Cali, Colombia, Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Francesca kisses her father, Colombia's President Abelardo de la Espriella, after he took the oath of office in Cali, Colombia, Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Soldiers inspect a car at a security checkpoint ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella in Cali, Colombia, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)
A soldier keeps watch from the turret of an armored vehicle ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella in Cali, Colombia, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)
Soldiers stand guard along a road ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella in Cali, Colombia, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)
Police inspect vehicles at a checkpoint ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella in Cali, Colombia, Thursday, Aug. 6, 2026. (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia) (AP Photo/Ivan Valencia)
A soldier keeps watch from the turret of an armored vehicle ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Abelardo de la Espriella in Cali, Colombia, Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2026. (AP Photo/Santiago Saldarriaga)
