CINCINNATI – Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor provided an update on the timelines for some of the team’s injured starters during his pre-practice news conference Thursday afternoon.
Taylor said defensive ends Sam Hubbard and Trey Hendrickson are week to week. Hendrickson hasn’t practiced since Day 1, with Taylor saying he felt something pop up.
Bengals WR Ja’Marr Chase Misses Seventh Straight Practice
Hubbard left Sunday’s practice early with a knee injury that Taylor said “was not significant.”
Neither defensive end will participate when the team practices today and tomorrow before Saturday’s off day.
“Wouldn’t expect anything this week, and then we’ll revisit next week,” Taylor said. “We’ll give him and Trey both time to recover. They’re both known quantities, what we got in them. Not gonna rush either of those guys back.”
If this were the regular season, the timeline would be different.
“Yes, 100%,” he said. “If it was a different time of year, absolutely that timeline would change. So right now, we’ll dive more into that next week.”
As for Ja’Marr Chase, there’s nothing new, Taylor said.
Chase has yet to practice as part of a hold-in as he awaits a new contract. He’s been present at every practice, engaging with his teammates, coaching up the younger receivers, and catching balls of the Juggs machine afterward.
Taylor continues to say the communication has been great, and they are on the same page.
Free agent offensive tackle Trent Brown also remains sidelined with what Taylor said was “tightness” when the 6’8″, 380-pounder reported for camp July 23.
Brown’s absence bodes well for rookie first-round pick Amarius Mims, and Hubbard’s absence allows 2023 first-round pick Myles Murphy to get extra reps for the first time.
Tuesday, the team’s two most recent top picks went head to head in a spirited matchup.
“It’s good for everybody; it’s good for the team,” Taylor said of the added reps for the youngsters. “Obviously, we like it when guys are healthy and able to do what they’re gonna do, but the silver lining is it’s getting a lot of the young guys a lot of reps. And that’s a good thing for the depth of our team right now.”
Also on the topic of starters, Taylor added some clarity on when he plans to play them in the preseason, which he stated he would do at the pre-camp luncheon July 22.
“I’ve got targeted the first game,” he said of the Aug. 10 home contest against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
“I’m not setting that in stone right now,” Taylor clarified. “But I’m optimistic that that’s where it’s trending for our team, and we’ll make decisions after that. This is something I’ve loosely talked about with the guys. It’s not something I’ve advertised with the team. But I think a week and a half away, that’s what’s in my head right now.”
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The Bengals will hold a joint practice with the Bears in Chicago ahead of the second preseason game, and they will have a joint practice in Cincinnati against the Indianapolis Colts ahead of the finale.
Those joint practices offer quality competition in even greater quantity than the series or two the starters may play against Tampa Bay.
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