Bengals injury updates ahead of showdown with Ravens
Tee Higgins is considered unlikely to play. And will the Bengals have either of their top defensive ends vs. the Ravens?
The injury bug has hit the Cincinnati Bengals, and it couldn’t have come at a worse time.
After falling to the Houston Texans without the services of Tee Higgins and Sam Hubbard, we saw Trey Hendrickson go down with a knee injury on his last snap of the game.
We now know that Hendrickson suffered only a hyperextended knee, which is good news, but it almost certainly keeps him out for Thursday’s big showdown with the Baltimore Ravens. Being down your top pass rusher against Lamar Jackson is never good news.
Beyond that, Head Coach Zac Taylor didn’t seem to instill much confidence in the fan base that Hubbard or Higgins would be back this week to help soften the blow.
The good news is it appears Ja’Marr Chase made it through Sunday’s game with no setbacks regarding his back injury, so he should be fine for this week.
There’s also this from ESPN’s Adam Schefter, who reports that it’s unlikely Higgins will play this week.
While Taylor didn’t make any declarations, calling it a “tough, short week” makes it sound like the chances of either Hubbard or Higgins suiting up Thursday aren’t great.
For an offense that looked lost for most of the game Sunday and a defense that was gashed in the run game while getting almost no pressure on C.J. Stroud, this could spell trouble for the Bengals as they desperately need to pick up not only conference but division wins.
Such is the reality with Thursday Night Football. Players have less time to recover from the previous game, and banged-up players lose three days to get their bodies back in to playing condition.
In the NFL, there is a “next man up” mentality, and the Bengals certainly look to be looking at the likes of Myles Murphy, Joseph Ossai, Cam Sample, Tyler Boyd, and Trenton Irwin to step in and make plays.
We will continue to monitor the statuses of all injured Bengals ahead of Thursday night’s AFC North clash.
READ MORE:
Zac Taylor Shares Update on Ja’Marr Chase’s Health: ‘He’s Sore Right Now’
CINCINNATI — The Bengals beat the Bills on Sunday night and star wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase suffered a back injury in the process.
It’s unclear if he’ll miss practice this week. Head coach Zac Taylor was noncommittal about Chase’s status for the Bengals’ Week 10 matchup with the Texans.
“I was just with him. He’s sore right now,” Taylor said on Monday afternoon. “It’s impossible to say the day after the game. We’ll just take it day-to-day with him.”
Chase had four receptions for 41 yards, including a 32 yard catch. He was on the field for 63 of the 70 offensive plays that the Bengals had on Sunday night.
“All I can do is pray and be a good teammate and be there for those guys and try to get healthy,” Chase said. “That’s the only thing I can do right now. Everybody is counting on me to be healthy.”
Check out the play that Chase appeared to hurt his back below.
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