Vontaze Burfict, Marvin Jones, Kevin Zeitler among Bengals inactives

The Cincinnati Bengals will be without three of their starters Sunday Night with Vontaze Burfict, Marvin Jones and Kevin Zeitler all declared inactive against the New England Patriots.

Burfict and Jones made the trip to Foxborough, despite being listed as "doubtful" on the team's final injury report. Burfict "officially" did not practice this week, though he was seen working during Friday's session with his helmet. Additionally, Burfict appeared to be undergoing tests on the field before the game, still dealing with the mysterious concussion protocol.

Jones didn't practice all week. It was widely believed that Jones would play Sunday against the Patriots, but Cincinnati has approached most of their injury situations with a mind towards conservatism (Burfict says, "huh?"). Jones and Burfict appear to be close to returning with an eye for next week when Cincinnati hosts the Carolina Panthers -- which is also a favorable return for Zeitler and Thompson.

Active for the first time in his career is Sean Porter, who spent his entire rookie season on IR with a torn labrum. Porter opened the season with a hamstring issue, which has held him out for the first three games of the season. Also active is defensive end Margus Hunt, who was questionable with a shoulder injury.

As for the Patriots, New England won't have their leading tackler, linebacker Dont'a Hightower.