CINCINNATI (AP)Andy Dalton got thrown into

an uncomfortable role as a rookie in 2011 2019 N'Keal Harry Jersey , handed a starting job in a position that calls for leadership. How do you lead a team when you’re not yet sure what to do? ”You get in the huddle and there are guys that are 10 years older than you,” Dalton said. ”It’s just a different time. Obviously I’m not the same kind of leader now that I was then, but I feel like I did all right that first year.” It’s totally different as Dalton enters his seventh season. Instead of the deer-in-the-headlights look that others noticed that first year, Dalton exudes a veteran’s confidence. And he’s no longer trying to figure out how he fits in the big picture. The Bengals are Dalton’s team now, and everyone knows it. ”He takes the bull by the horns,” coach Marvin Lewis said during the team’s mandatory minicamp this week. ”That’s important. He knows that he’s got to be the leader of the football team. He didn’t need to do that early on because we needed him to focus on being quarterback and to focus on doing his job.” He’s assuming even more of the leadership responsibility this season. The Bengals had several veteran leaders in the locker room the last few years. Left tackle Andrew Whitworth and defensive tackle Domata Peko arranged and directed the veterans’ workouts during the NFL’s 2011 lockout. Linebacker Rey Maualuga was a co-captain, along with Dalton. All three are gone this year, leaving Dalton as one of the team’s longest-tenured players. ”It may require a little more of me N'Keal Harry NFL Draft , but I think of other guys, too, kind of stepping up in those positions,” Dalton said. ”I felt I was already kind of established in that position.” His last two seasons have established him as one of the NFL’s best quarterbacks as well as a team leader. Dalton had the AFC’s top passer rating in 2015 at 106.3 before he broke his right thumb late in the season. He followed that with another impressive season even though he was one of the league’s most-sacked QBs. He threw for 18 touchdowns and only eight interceptions in 2016, finishing with a passer rating of 91.8 despite missing receiver A.J. Green for much of the season. He also expanded his leadership role. Teammates said he was more verbal about getting everything right in practice. ”You start as a rookie, you’re obviously in a leadership position, but you haven’t done anything yet,” Dalton said. ”But once you’re at the point where I’m at in my career Color Rush Jarrett Stidham Jersey , it’s easier to say things, especially to the younger guys. It’s easier for them to listen because I’ve got the experience doing it.” Part of his role now is urging other veterans to move into more of a leadership role. ”Guys talk about it, and I think it kind of happens naturally, too,” Dalton said. ”As we get to training camp and start playing games and have competition, I think we’ll see it more.” NOTES: Second-year receiver Cody Core hurt his lower left leg on the last play of practice. He was in severe pain on the field, and was taken by cart for X-rays. The Bengals had no update on severity of his injury. Core caught 17 passes for 200 yards as a rookie. … Heavy rain prompted a 25-minute halt midway through practice. The start of practice on Tuesday also was briefly delayed by rain. … Top draft pick John Ross participated in conditioning drills but was held out of any activities that would involve using his arms. The receiver is recovering from a torn labrum. … Cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick participated in drills but not in plays for the second straight day. He’s recovering from a hand injury. — The NFL handed down another suspension to wide receiver Josh Gordon on Thursday, which means that his run with the Patriots is over after 11 games with the team.Patriots head coach Bill Belichick opened his Friday press conference with a statement about Gordon.“I spoke to Josh yesterday morning Youth Jarrett Stidham Jersey , as I have several times since he’s been here,” Belichick said. “It’s obviously an unfortunate situation. Personally I wish him the very best, as we all do on this team. He’s made a statement, the organization has made a statement, the league has made a statement. I have spoken to him at length over the last three months, so I don鈥檛 really have anything at this point to add to that. It’s a private matter. I hope that he is able to deal with it successfully. Otherwise we鈥檝e moved on to Buffalo.”Belichick faced several followup questions about Gordon, including how hard it is to lose a player on the Thursday before a Week 16 game. Belichick went with the familiar answer of “it is what it is” and said he has confidence in the offensive players still on hand in New England.