The Cincinnati Bengals hit the field Friday for their last official practice before facing the St. Louis Rams on Sunday.
It continues to look like star cornerback Adam Jones will be good to go after practicing Friday. He has been dealing with a foot injury that kept him out of last week's loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Jones got in a limited session Thursday, and was on the field again Friday, though we won't know until later if he was a full or partial participant.
While he wasn't practicing, nor will he again this season, cornerback Darqueze Dennard was present at the stadium on Friday and talked with some of the media about his season-ending shoulder injury. Specifically, he told Bengals.com's Geoff Hobson that surgery on the injured shoulder is set to take place in about a week or two with a recovery timetable that should allow him to be ready for the start of training camp.
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Dennard suffered his injury during Sunday's loss to the Cardinals, which is the latest setback for the 2014 first-round pick out of Michigan State. He hasn't seen the field much in his first two years in the NFL, but with Jones and Leon Hall becoming free agents next year, Dennard could become a prominent member of the secondary in 2016.
As for the rest of the Bengals, they continue to look good on the injury front for Sunday, despite a host of players leaving last Sunday's game with various injuries. Safety Shawn Williams continued to practice on Friday after participating on Wednesday and Thursday as well. Williams left Sunday's game with an ankle injury and was limited in Wednesday's session, but went full on Thursday.
One player whose final injury status for Sunday looks iffy is Pat Sims. After missing last week with a knee injury, Sims was limited on Wednesday and Thursday this week. Even if he got a full session in today, he may be getting a questionable designation for Sunday. He's a good run-stuffer in the middle of the Bengals' defensive line, and having him against a run-heavy Rams offense would be ideal.
Another player whose status for Sunday is up in the air is starting right tackle Andre Smith. He's dealing with a thigh injury that led to him practicing in a limited role on Wednesday and Thursday. That might explain why he played so poorly against the Cardinals on Sunday, but then again, he hasn't looked great all year. If Smith can't play, Eric Winston will likely get the starting nod in his place.
Quarterback Andy Dalton also practiced every day this week, though a groin injury limited him in Wednesday's session. Assuming there were no setbacks today, Dalton looks good to go Sunday.
Be sure to check back later for the final participation report.