CINCINNATI — Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins and defensive end Sam Hubbard have been ruled out against the Baltimore Ravens.
According to the Bengals' injury report, both players did not practice Wednesday and will not play Thursday. Rookie receiver Andrei Iosivas is also out due to a knee injury.
The Bengals are coming off a quick turnaround from Sunday's loss against the Houston Texans to play the Ravens in Thursday Night Football.
That quick turnaround has left less time for Cincinnati's injured players to rest and recover.
While the team did not practice Monday due to its shortened week, Higgins, Hubbard and Trey Hendrickson were all listed as "DNP" on the Bengals' injury report. Iosivas and D.J. Reader (rest) were also listed as estimated non-participants.
On Monday, Schefter said it was "considered unlikely" Higgins would play against Baltimore due to his hamstring injury he sustained in practice last week.
On a short week with a Thursday night game vs. the Ravens in Baltimore, it’s considered unlikely that Bengals’ WR Tee Higgins will be able to return from his hamstring injury, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) November 13, 2023
When asked about the possibility of Higgins and Hubbard — who both missed the Houston hame — playing Thursday, coach Zac Taylor told reporters the week will "be short, tough. We'll see."
Hendrickson's status should be good to go since he was removed from the injury report and fully practiced Wednesday. His status was up in the air after NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport reported that an MRI confirmed he hyperextended his knee Sunday when Texans receiver Noah Brown fell into his leg.
"Obviously, short week is always challenging, but we'll see how it goes," Taylor said.
Taylor said the team expects the next guys up to "step up" if Hubbard and Hendrickson were ruled out.
"That's why we've invested in the position ... this is the NFL, the injury situation is never going to be perfect for any of the teams you're playing against or for ourselves," Taylor said.
One positive heading into Thursday's game is receiver Ja'Marr Chase's status. Taylor said it was "good to see" things moving forward after Chase dealt with some back soreness last week.
While the shortened week is not ideal for a divisional game, Taylor isn't worried about the transition.
"This is a team that's always done a good job of that, refocusing and knowing what's important ... these guys will be excited for the opportunity and, again, we're still early in the process of getting through Monday but I've got no fear that our guys will be ready to go once Thursday rolls around," Taylor said.
The Bengals take on the Ravens at 8:15 p.m. Thursday in Baltimore. While the game is available on Prime Video, fans in the Tri-State can watch Thursday's game for free on WCPO 9.
