The Bengals head into Sunday’s AFC North trip to Baltimore with something every team wants this late in the week: a clean injury report. That leaves the inactives picture looking more like a roster squeeze than a survival list.
Baltimore, meanwhile, is dealing with a very different setup. Lamar Jackson will miss his third straight game because of an ankle sprain, and Tyler “Snoop” Huntley is set to start in his place. That opens the door for Cincinnati in a game that suddenly looks a lot more interesting if the Bengals can take advantage.
On Cincinnati’s side, the easiest inactive call is the newest name on the roster. Jack Kiser has joined up with his former Notre Dame defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Al Golden in Cincinnati, but he just arrived and looks like the most obvious healthy scratch while he settles into his new NFL home. With the rest of the roster healthy, there’s no real reason to rush him onto special teams duty right away.
The offensive line should also provide a straightforward decision. Myles Hinton, a backup swing tackle, looks like a natural inactive.
The trickier part comes after that. Jalen Rivers has stayed off the inactive list all season, but it’s hard to see why he’d be activated over Jacob Bayer or even Connor Lew at this point. That said, Rivers has remained available every week so far, so keeping him active here feels more like a guess than a confident prediction.
Bayer has at least seen some work as an extra offensive lineman, which is a wrinkle the Bengals should consider leaning on more often.
On the defensive line, Landon Robinson appears stuck waiting for his NFL debut. The front is crowded, and the Bengals seem heavily invested in Kris Jenkins Jr., whether that’s because of performance, draft status, or both.
With B.J. Hill now in the mix, it gets even harder to carve out a spot for Robinson, even though he could offer some juice as an inside pass-rush option.
If anything pushes this rotation to change, it might be a loss to Huntley and company. Until then, Robinson’s first chance keeps getting pushed back.
In Other News...
Tee Higgins Gives Bengals A Needed Boost Entering Ravens Showdown
Tee Higgins gave the Bengals exactly the sort of midseason lift they needed last week, pushing through an adductor injury and taking the field in the win over the Miami Dolphins. He handled 69.2 percent of the snaps in that game, and his presence mattered for an offense that can look very different when one of its top targets is unavailable.
Heading into Week 7 against Baltimore, Higgins is no longer listed on the injury report and has been a full participant in practice. For Cincinnati, that sets up a healthier receiving corps at an important point in the schedule, with Higgins already up to 27 catches for 423 yards and a touchdown this season as the Bengals prepare for a rivalry game that rarely comes without pressure. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Get A Huge Week 7 Opportunity They Cannot Waste
The Bengals head into Week 7 coming off their bye with a chance to reset their season in one of the AFC Norths most familiar pressure points. A trip to Baltimore on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET on CBS is the kind of divisional test that can quickly change the mood around a team, especially one that needed the extra week to regroup and get ready for a stretch that can shape the rest of the fall.
Cincinnati also arrives with some encouraging health news, which matters when the margins in a division game are usually slim. The Ravens are waiting, the stage is set, and the Bengals have an opportunity they can ill afford to let slip if they want to leave October with real momentum. [Read more 🡒]
Bengals Suddenly Have A Troubling New Concern Around Erick All
Erick All Jr. was already a player the Bengals were watching closely, and Sunday added another layer of concern. The tight end was declared out for the rest of the game against the Ravens after a right knee injury, with the team confirming his status in an official post.
The timing is what makes it unsettling for Cincinnati, because it came after All left during the second half and involved the same knee that has already been through surgeries before. The Bengals also lost safety Kyle Dugger to a left quadriceps injury, leaving one more personnel problem to sort through as the game moved on. [Read more 🡒]