Having wrapped up a road upset of the Jacksonville Jaguars on Monday night, the Cincinnati Bengals pushed Wednesday’s practice back several hours and conducted a walkthrough.
The team released an estimated injury report for what it would have looked like had it been a full practice, and one of the names on the list is rookie running back Chase Brown, who has a “limited” designation due to a hamstring injury.
It was a hamstring injury that forced the Bengals to push pause on their rollout of Brown coming out of the bye week. They had several plays planned for him for the Week 8 game at San Francisco, but Brown injured his hamstring covering a kickoff in the Thursday practice that week.
Bengals Rookie RB Chase Brown Back on the Injury Report
The rookie fifth-round pick out of Illinois came off injured reserve early last week and provided a needed spark to the run game against the Jaguars, carrying the ball nine times for 61 yards.
MORE: Cincinnati Bengals Depth Chart
The Bengals got Brown involved early, handing the ball to him on the second play of the game and continuing to go back for him. Brown had a 31-yarder that represents the team’s longest run of the season, and he also had a 15-yard run as part of his breakout performance.
The #Bengals had 4 of their 11 longest runs of the year last night.
Chase Brown had 2 of them, including the No. 1 spot. pic.twitter.com/0ZeDs9UzgI— Jay Morrison (@ByJayMorrison) December 5, 2023
It doesn’t appear the hamstring issue is anything beyond managing the injury after Brown’s return from IR.
Bengals head coach Zac Taylor held his weekly news conference earlier in the day and spoke about Brown’s emergence and what the rookie’s presence can mean for the offense moving forward.
“We’ve had confidence in him,” head coach Zac Taylor said. “His opportunities were coming. Being a rookie, coming into the earlier part of the season, getting a role on special teams that way, he was starting to earn more opportunities, and he got hurt. So there’s been a confidence there from us and the team to get him involved, and he maximized his opportunities.”
“It wasn’t perfect. Trust me,” Taylor added. “There’s things I’m sure he’s kicking himself about. But I think he’ll continue to improve week to week. I think there is something to being able to give another back some carries and creating a different look for the defense.”
The only other player with an injury designation was right tackle Jonah Williams, who was listed as limited due to a back issue. Williams was on the injury report with a shoulder issue in the week leading up to the Pittsburgh game on Nov. 26, but he was a full participant in each practice that week and played the whole game against the Steelers.
Three other Bengals were listed as limited with “Not Injury Related-Rest” designations: defensive tackle B.J. Hill, linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither, and defensive end Sam Hubbard.
The Bengals will return to their regular practice schedule Thursday afternoon as they prepare for Sunday’s home game against the Indianapolis Colts.
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