“It’s a possibility” — Bengals’ Zac Taylor keeps hope alive for former first-round pick to play Week 1 vs. Bucs
The Cincinnati Bengals are fully back in the swing of things with Sunday’s regular season-opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers just days away. There’s actual hope all 53 players on the Bengals’ roster are able to play, including last year’s first-round pick Shemar Stewart.
The Cincinnati Bengals are fully back in the swing of things with Sunday’s regular season-opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers just days away.
There’s actual hope all 53 players on the Bengals’ roster are able to play, and that conversation starts with the stars at wide receiver.
Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins trending towards playing
Ja’Marr Chase (knee) and Tee Higgins (heel) are practicing and should be able to play Sunday. Chase suffered a hyperextended knee two weeks ago. Higgins is recovering from a heel contusion within the last two weeks as well.
“Yes, they’ll continue to do more and more every day,” Taylor said of his starting wideouts.
Shemar Stewart playing is a “possibility”
While it’s highly likely Chase and Higgins suit up, defensive end Shemar Stewart is a much bigger question.
Stewart, Cincinnati’s first-round pick from the 2025 NFL Draft, suffered his own hyperextended knee at the beginning of training camp and has only recently returned to practice. Is it out of the question for him to suit up?
“It’s a possibility,” Taylor said. It’s just too early in the week to make any definitive statements.
“Shemar will keep working towards that,” Taylor said. “So I won’t make any predictions on how it’s going to end up this week for him. But I think he’s feeling a lot better every single day. Monday felt good, and we’ll just progress them this week and see where it ends up.”
Confidence in Dax Hill
Cornerback Dax Hill (hamstring) returned to practice last week but was limited to individual drills upon returning like Stewart. Hill is a stater, so him playing the entire game is expected if he’s healthy enough to play.
Taylor seems optimistic that will be the case.
“He’s (Hill) feeling really good too,” Taylor said. “I’ve loved how he’s come back and just attacked the process coming off the injury. Really like his demeanor right now. I’ve got a lot of confidence in Dax Hill, a lot of respect for Dax, and so I’m excited that we’ve got him back in the mix here.”
Bengals’ Wednesday injury report
| Player | Injury | W/T/F | Designation |
We’ll update this post when the Bengals’ injury report is officially revealed…
