The Bengals began their practice week a day earlier this week due to the fact that they play on Saturday instead of Sunday, like most teams, so they can spend Christmas with their families. On Tuesday, A.J. Green sat out of practice, as did Brian Leonard, Chris Crocker, Cedric Benson, Andrew Whitworth and a few others. Missing the week's first practice isn't that uncommon, though. At this point in the season, many players take that day off to get fully healed from the dings of the last game.

According to Bengals.com's Geoff Hobson, some of those players, including Green, returned to practice on Wednesday. Third-down back Brian Leonard returned to practice and fullback Chris Pressley is practicing as well -- he practiced yesterday too.

Left tackle Andrew Whitworth and wide receiver Andre Caldwell will not be practicing on Wednesday with the team, though. Caldwell sat out of Sunday's game, which gave Ryan Whalen a chance to shine. Hopefully Whitworth returns to practice on Thursday as he is the most integral part of the offensive line.

Stay tuned throughout the day for more practice updates and check back tonight for the Bengals' and Cardinals' full practice reports.