Bengals end up on the positive side of two injury updates ahead of critical Week 6 matchup vs Giants
It turns out that the cornerback to replace Dax Hill on the active roster might not come from the practice squad at all. It could very well be DJ Ivey. The Bengals announced Wednesday that Ivey has been cleared to practice for the first time all year. Ivey, who suffered a torn ACL last December, […]
It turns out that the cornerback to replace Dax Hill on the active roster might not come from the practice squad at all. It could very well be DJ Ivey.
The Bengals announced Wednesday that Ivey has been cleared to practice for the first time all year.
Ivey, who suffered a torn ACL last December, was placed on the Physically Unable to Perform list prior to training camp. He stayed on the PUP list for the entirety of camp, which kept him on the list during the first four weeks of the regular season. He remained on the list during Week 5 as well.
This move doesn't take Ivey off the PUP list just yet as he has 21 days to practice without counting against the roster, but with a good week of practice, that move could come prior to Sunday night's game against the New York Giants.
"Start practicing him, see where he's at," Head coach Zac Taylor told reporters. "You know, last December is when [his injury] happened, so he's looked really good on the rehab field. Obviously, he wasn't able to come up those first four weeks, and so it made sense now to get him up with the injury to Dax, and we'll just see where he's at, but everything's been really good in the rehab phase of things so we'll just take a look at him."
Ivey's recovery from his own torn ACL times well with Hill starting his own recovery. Both are outside cornerbacks in this defense, which gives Ivey a clear role as DJ Turner and Cam Taylor-Britt's main backup should he be activated this week.
As the Bengals finally get healthier, the Giants are dealing with their own problems. Head coach Brian Daboll classified edge defender Kayvon Thibodeaux as "week-to-week" after the former first-round pick had surgery to repair a fractured scaphoid bone in his wrist, per NFL Media's Ian Rapoport.
Thibodeaux makes up one-third of a menacing pass-rushing trio for New York, with Brian Burns causing problems off the opposite edge and nose tackle Dexter Lawrence II terrorizing the interior. Thibodeaux has accounted for 16 of the triumvirate's 46 combined pressures to start the season.
Cincinnati's offensive line has been commendable through five games this year, but any break the unit can get will only boost its chances of allowing Joe Burrow to continue cooking. If the defense comes to play, Sunday night may end better for the Bengals than how last week did.
Former Bengals player tells revealing story of past upset win over Giants involving A.J. Green
Cincinnati could use the same outcome this week.
