Bengals tease good news coming out of bye week regarding two injured players while Ravens give brief Lamar Jackson update
It turns out the bye week came at the perfect time for the Cincinnati Bengals with a monumental AFC North matchup against the Baltimore Ravens on deck.
It turns out the bye week came at the perfect time for the Cincinnati Bengals with a monumental AFC North matchup against the Baltimore Ravens on deck.
Cincinnati returned to practice Monday for the first time in over a week. Every player on the active roster, aside from rookie defensive end Cashius Howell, was a participant in practice.
Per head coach Zac Taylor, Howell was out with an illness. It’s unclear whether or not he’ll be able to practice later in the week. Even without him, the Bengals look very healthy entering Week 7 of the season.
Kyle Dugger looks close to returning
Taylor made it clear last week after Cincinnati’s 31-24 victory over the Miami Dolphins that only a few players would be dealing with injuries that could impact them in Week 7 and beyond.
Two of those players, linebacker Swayze Bozeman and tight end Tanner Hudson, have been placed on the Reserve/Injured list. The other one is safety Kyle Dugger, who was declared as week-to-week with his quad injury.
Dugger did practice for the first time in weeks Monday, signaling progress towards him being able to suit up in the near future.
“I think he’s progressing along,” Taylor said of Dugger Monday afternoon. “We’ll kind of see where he’s at.”
Cincinnati has leaned on fellow backup S PJ Jules in the two games Dugger has missed. S Russ Yeast has also been elevated from the practice squad in Dugger’s absence.
Colbie Young’s return is imminent as well
At wide receiver, rookie Colbie Young is also on track to returning very soon. Taylor said the 24 year-old looks “as good as he has in a long time.”
Young was close to playing in Week 5 against the Dolphins. He suffered his knee injury on the first offensive play of Cincinnati’s Week 3 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. His injury pave the way for Mitch Tinsley to return to the club. His return would put the Bengals on the doorstep of being fully healthy at the position.
Andrei Iosivas coming back would complete the group. Iosivas needs to sit out at least one more game before he’s eligible to come off of I.R. The Bengals have not had their full receiving corps since Week 2.
Cincinnati will release its first injury report of the week on Wednesday. It sounds like it should be a relatively clean list to start the week.
Lamar Jackson injury update
The main injury storyline for this week revolves around Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson. Baltimore lost its starting QB two weeks ago to an ankle sprain. Tyler Huntley is 1-1 in his place.
When asked for an update on Jackson, Ravens coach Jesse Minter continues to label him as “day-to-day,” claiming he can “potentially” play Sunday against Cincinnati. He said that Jackson has made progress, but obviously wants to keep things vague early in the week.
Jackson has won 11 of his 13 starts against the Bengals. While he’s never played this version of Cincinnati’s defense, the Bengals know exactly the kind of threat he possesses. Cornerback DJ Turner II confirmed they are preparing for Jackson to start.
