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The Cincinnati Bengals announced the following players are not expected to play tonight against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers:
(1/2) NEWS- Not expected to play tonight: -WR Tevin Reese -CB Darqueze Dennard -CB Brandon Ghee -LB Vontaze Burfict -LB Sean Porter
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) August 24, 2015
(2/2) OL Trey Hopkins -OL Cedric Ogbuehi -OL Andre Smith -OL Jake Fisher -CB Onterio McCalebb -DE Michael Johnson -DT Pat Sims
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) August 24, 2015
As expected rookie offensive tackle Jake Fisher is not playing tonight after missing most of last week with a shoulder injury. That also kept him from playing in Week 1 against the Giants, and he's falling behind to the point he may rarely see the field as a rookie if he doesn't get back on the field soon.
Cornerback Darqueze Dennard was also expected to miss tonight after suffering a groin injury two weeks ago that he reaggravated against the Giants. Defensive tackle Pat Sims is out tonight after a hamstring injury cost him most of practice last week.
It's a bit of a surprise Andre Smith isn't playing tonight. The starting right tackle has gotten veteran's rest days off here and there in camp, but never was diagnosed with an injury.
The good news is defensive end Margus Hunt is among those making their preseason debuts tonight. Hunt didn't play in the first preseason game after missing a good chunk of training camp with a back injury.
Backup quarterback AJ McCarron will make his much-anticipated NFL debut tonight. A fifth-round pick out of Alabama in the 2014 NFL Draft, McCarron missed all of the 2014 preseason before coming off PUP late in the year. He's yet to play in a live NFL game, so watching him tonight will be one of the more intriguing stories of this game.