If there is a time for an NFL team to get as healthy as possible, it has to be in December, doesn't it? Though the team has lost some big (figuratively and literally) players this season, even into last week's game against the Chargers, it appears that some good news came from Bengals practice this Thursday.
According to the local media, all players on the active roster participated in practice on Thursday.
Everybody on the active roster was participating today. #bengals
— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) December 5, 2013
This means that Kevin Zeitler, who has had a foot issue since the game a few weeks back in the game against the Ravens, returned to practice for the first time since incurring the injury. His potential return to the lineup couldn't come at a better time, given that the team just had to put left guard Clint Boling on Injured Reserve with an injured knee.
Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com spoke with Zeitler at the practice field, noting that he was limited in his work, and it sounded like the second-year guard was chomping at the bit to get back into the lineup.
"All I've done is lift like crazy for the last three weeks. I haven't been able to move," Zeitler said. "i felt pretty good today. It's just nice to get work on timing, rhythm, communication again. We'll sdee how it goes."
The line played well last week without Zeitler in the lineup, but having him back would be a big boost--especially with the team seemingly wanting to emphasize the running game late in the year. It's unclear if backup Mike Pollak will get the nod at left guard, or if it will be Andrew Whitworth. As you have probably read by now, we at Cincy Jungle prefer the latter option.
Again, this all depends upon Zeilter making his definitive return to the lineup, but when a guy practices Thursday, it's usually a good sign for Sunday. We'll have the full injury report later.