NFL Running Back Giovani Bernard Returns to his Old Team For Photo Duties

Former Cincinnati Bengals running back Giovani Bernard has returned to the Paycor Stadium but in a very different role — as a photographer.

On Sunday night, the Bengals clashed with the Bills in Week 9 of the NFL season. Bernard played for Cincinnati from 2013 to 2020 before retiring in 2022.

The Bengals’ social media team was sure to trumpet the return of Bernard showing him warmly embracing his former teammates. Bernard, using a Sony mirrorless, was seen alongside his fellow shooters following the action.

“I’m having a great time,” he told Telemundo Sports. “Typically I’m in front of the camera but right now I’m actually behind the camera so I’m able to be here with the NFL shooting the game I’ve always loved cameras, I’ve always loved photography, it’s a big passion of mine, to be able to dive into my passion a bit more it’s really an honor.”

Bernard jokes in the Bengal TikTok video: “If I don’t get a single shot, it’s not my fault. He did end up getting a shot, quite a few actually. The Bengals hosted a gallery of his photos and he captured a few keepers, others less so, but photography is a learning curve so hopefully Bernard keeps going with his endeavor.

Bernard follows in the footsteps of Ken Griffey Jr., the baseball legend and Hall of Famer was spotted capturing photos of soccer star Lionel Messi during an Inter Miami game in Florida and photographed an NFL game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Dallas Cowboys.

And of course, there is Hall of Fame baseball pitcher Randy Johnson who has become an accomplished photographer since retiring from the mound.

“Well, after I retired, I just traveled,” Johnson told PetaPixel in an interview last month. “I went to Africa and brought my camera the very first time I went there. I thought it was a really enjoyable place, and it embodies, you know, needing a camera and taking pictures of the wildlife.”