The Bengals are walking into Sunday’s opener with the part of the roster they care most about in fantasy and on the scoreboard fully intact.
That’s the big takeaway from Cincinnati’s final Week 1 injury report before the 1 p.m. ET kickoff against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Paycor Stadium. Joe Burrow has Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins available, Chase Brown is not on the report at all, and the offense looks set to roll into the season opener without any major availability surprises.
The only Bengals player carrying a game designation is defensive end Shemar Stewart, who is doubtful with a knee injury.
Cincinnati listed seven players on Friday’s report. Chase is there with a knee listing and a non-injury rest tag, but he practiced fully Wednesday and Thursday before sitting out Friday.
Under NFL reporting rules, no questionable, doubtful or out designation is the important part. The team is clearly expecting him to play.
That Friday absence is about managing the workload, not signaling a new problem. Chase hyperextended his left knee in a late-August camp session, and Zac Taylor spent the week sounding encouraged about where the star receiver stood. Local beat coverage on Friday treated him as cleared, and The Cincinnati Enquirer reported that Chase, Higgins and cornerback DJ Turner II will all play Sunday.
Higgins had a cleaner week than Chase. He was a full participant all three days while listed with a foot issue, and he also finished without any game status attached.
Earlier in the week Taylor described the problem as a heel contusion, though the official report now reads “foot.” Either way, three straight full practices and no designation put him well on the right side of the Week 1 line.
Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic posted the first injury report of the season on Wednesday: “First #Bengals injury report of the year. Full participation from everyone.”
First #Bengals
- Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) September 9, 2026
The rest of Cincinnati’s report was a mix of maintenance and one real concern. Jonathan Allen, B.J.
Hill and Dexter Lawrence II were all on the sheet for rest-related reasons. DJ Turner II was limited Thursday and Friday with a hamstring injury, but he does not have a game designation.
Taylor said after Friday’s practice that the corner is good to go, according to the team site.
Stewart’s knee situation remains the one true defensive question. His issue goes back to a hyperextension on the first day of training camp, when Taylor said the injury was not season-ending and that Stewart would miss several weeks, per ESPN.
He got back on the practice field this week before moving from full to limited to out. NBC Sports and CBS Sports both list him as the only Bengal with a doubtful tag.
From a fantasy angle, the message is pretty straightforward. Chase is still a locked-in WR1. 4for4 had him as the top FanDuel wide receiver for Week 1 as of Saturday afternoon, and Pat Fitzmaurice’s FantasyPros board also placed him first. FantasyPros consensus projections had him just behind Puka Nacua, still comfortably in elite territory.
Higgins belongs in starting lineups too. Full participation all week answers the only real question surrounding him, and his red-zone role keeps him useful even if Chase draws the first look.
Burrow gets the benefit of both. With his top two targets cleared and no reported snap limits, he’s a QB1 for Week 1. Some fantasy boards are even higher on him: Fantasy Football Calculator and Footballguys ranked him as the overall QB1 for the opening slate, while the FantasyPros expert consensus had him second behind Lamar Jackson as of Sunday morning.
Chase Brown also comes into the opener in a strong spot. He never appeared on the injury report, and unofficial depth charts from Ourlads and CBS Sports list him ahead of Samaje Perine and Tahj Brooks. That points to the lead-back job on paper.
The fit with Cincinnati’s offense makes the case even better. Chase and Higgins force defenses to respect the outside, which can lighten the box, and Brown’s receiving ability gives him a path to value without needing a huge carry count.
Cincinnati also spent camp adding more under-center and play-action looks, something Dehner flagged in the spring and Brown himself discussed at camp, per NBC Sports. If that shows up Sunday, Brown should have cleaner lanes to work with.
Gesicki and Iosivas are more secondary pieces. Chase and Higgins are expected to soak up most of the target share, leaving Gesicki as a tight end streamer and Iosivas as a deeper-league option unless one of the starters unexpectedly sits.
The Bengals’ defense, meanwhile, could be the part that feels Stewart’s absence if he’s ruled out. Cashius Howell would be the next edge name behind Boye Mafe and Myles Murphy. The pass-rush rotation gets less stable, especially in a game with a 50.5 total, per FOX Sports.
Tampa Bay has its own injury issues to sort through, with Jalen McMillan, Sean Tucker and Justin Skule listed as doubtful and Christian Rozeboom questionable on the Buccaneers’ Friday report. But from Cincinnati’s side, the important part is already clear: the offense’s core pieces are ready.
The inactive list still needs to be posted about 90 minutes before kickoff, but the final Bengals report is the last official word for now. Chase, Higgins and Burrow are set to start the season with no announced restrictions, and fantasy managers can treat them that way.
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