The Bengals originally signed Winston off the street in 2014 when Andre Smith suffered a season-ending biceps injury, and Winston appeared in 33 games with six starts.
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The 11-year veteran and president of the NFL Players Association talked about his return for this week’s Cincinnati Bengals High 5:
Q: What have you been doing the last two months?
A: Your typical workouts and things like that. It's hard to replicate any sort of football — pushing sleds, doing those sorts of things. Coaching fall league baseball, my 6-year-old. Obviously you're not used to being home in the fall, so trying to stay busy, immersed myself with the kids, picking them up from school, take them to school, try to be around as much as I can hoping a call would come. So again, just doing what I think every dad tries to do as much as they can and since I had time, I tried to do more of it.
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Q: How closely did you follow the Bengals through the first eight games?
A: Obviously I watched them. Got a lot of friends here, rooting them. Obviously not the start everybody was hoping for, looking for. But I've seen things like this turn around pretty quickly as well. I think it's there. We've got to find a way to do it.
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Q: While you have the advantage of knowing the system, is it strange to come back with a new coordinator?
A: Obviously it's different, but I've had a lot of coaches in my days and had a lot of different ways of addressing things. It's just part of the change.
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Q: What's your take on what's plaguing this team?
A: Far be it from me to come in here and start telling who's the problem. I look at it more as we all have to be a little bit more of the solution. I think anytime you're having problems, whether it's running the ball, protecting, you've got to look inside yourself and find a little bit more and if everybody does that, you'll probably get over the hump. Again, I'm just going to be here doing whatever they ask me to do and whatever that role might be.
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Q: Do you think you can be ready to play Sunday?
A: You better be ready to play if you're on the roster. That's what you're here for. Obviously I've always been a guy who's ready to do whatever they ask you to do, whatever position or situation they ask me to do it. Can't say I'm that far out of it. Obviously eight weeks is eight weeks and it's a while. But at the same time, if you put a jersey on in this league, you better be ready to go. Nobody cares what your problems are.
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