Cincinnati Bengals Injury Report: Tee Higgins Among Two Ruled Out While Ja’Marr Chase Is Questionable

The Cincinnati Bengals will be without two, possibly three, starters Sunday when they face the Houston Texans at Paycor Stadium.

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor confirmed today that wide receiver Tee Higgins (hamstring) and defensive end Sam Hubbard (ankle) will not play. Taylor offered a “we’ll see” on wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase, who is battling a back injury but participated in practice the last two days.

Cincinnati Bengals Will be Down Two Starters

Chase said Thursday he intends to play.

“I just have to be there for my teammates right now, and if I can go, I’m gonna go,” Chase said. “In my head, I’m playing. So until further notice, we’ll see.”

Since Chase arrived in 2021, the Bengals have never played a game without both him and Higgins.

If that is the case Sunday against Houston, look for veteran Trenton Irwin and rookie Andrei Iosivas to have expanded roles. Rookie Charlie Jones could factor into things as well. He was activated off injured reserve this week after missing five games due to thumb surgery, but Taylor offered a “we’ll see” on his status as well.

Jones’ primary role when healthy has been as the punt returner, but the main reason Cincinnati drafted him in the fourth round was to be the heir apparent to Tyler Boyd as the slot receiver, so don’t be surprised to see him involved on offense if the Bengals are light at receiver.

MORE: Cincinnati Bengals Depth Chart

It will be interesting to see who gets the start for Hubbard. First-round pick Myles Murphy has been showing steady progress in limited reps, while veteran Cam Sample has impressed the coaches at every turn, even though he is more of a hybrid inside/outside guy.

Last year at this time, it would have been Joseph Ossai, but the 2021 third-round pick has struggled to earn playing time this season.

Taylor said all three will see increased snaps with Hubbard sidelined.

“I don’t think our D line, in general, gets enough credit,” Taylor said.

The final injury report should be out by 2:30 p.m. ET. Two other players whose status could be in doubt are defensive tackle Josh Tupou, who missed last week’s game and was limited this week in practice, and backup linebacker and special teams ace Akeem Davis-Gaither, who has been limited with a knee injury.

Davis-Gaither missed four games due to a knee injury before returning for the Buffalo game.

UPDATE 2:30 p.m.: Tupou is listed as doubtful, while Chase and Jones are questionable.

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