Bengals players we don’t expect to play against the Vikings

Bengals fans and players alike are more than excited for the return of NFL football tonight! Unfortunately, that return will be bittersweet for a few players who won’t be able to get on the field. The Bengals have a few players dealing with injuries that will likely keep them from playing in tonight’s game. Here’s a list of players who it’s safe to assume won’t be playing tonight.

Andrew Billings

One of the biggest and most unfortunate stories of the past couple of days has been the Bengals’ ultra-hyped fourth round defensive tackle out of Baylor going down with a knee injury at practice on Wednesday. As of right now, the only information about the injury is that he underwent an MRI later in the day with the hopes that the injury was no more serious than a cartilage tear.

If that is the best case-scenario, there’s a chance that Billings will be out for at least a few months. Given the Bengals’ preference to develop rookies before throwing them into the fire, it was unlikely that Billings would find much playing time early in the regular season this year anyway. But, the hope was that he would at least be able to showcase his talents in the preseason. At the moment, it doesn’t look like there is any chance of that happening.

William Jackson III

It hasn’t been a good offseason for Bengals rookies and injuries. Before Billings went down, Jackson suffered a torn pectoral in early August. Although the hope is tha the won’t miss the entire season due to the injury, which will require surgery, he will miss a significant portion of the season. He will definitely not play tonight or anytime during the preseason.

Tyler Kroft

In addition to Bengals rookies, it also hasn’t been a good offseason for Bengals tight ends and injuries. Kroft was expected to fill in for Tyler Eifert while he was recovering from ankle surgery. But, Kroft went down with a hyperextended knee injury in early August. He could potentially be back for Week 1 of the regular season. But, he won’t be ready to come back for tonight’s preseason opener.

Vontaze Burfict

We all know that Vontaze Burfict will miss the first three games of the regular season due to a suspension as a result of his actions in the Bengals’ 2015 Wild Card game. He also is reportedly not playing in the preseason and Marvin Lewis has decided to play it safe with his star linebacker and not expose him to injury. Instead of Burfict, look for more appearances from guys like Vincent Rey, P.J. Dawson, and Nick Vigil tonight.

Andrew Whitworth

Whitworth is battling a (supposedly) minor shoulder injury. Due to his age, the Bengals might just be holding him out for precautionary reasons. But, he definitely won’t play tonight after not practicing all week. So, expect to see more reps from backups Jake Fisher and John Weidenaar.

Darqueze Dennard

Dennard is battling an ankle injury that has him in a walking boot. He certainly won’t be playing tonight but is hopefully going to be back for Week 1 of the regular season. This is Dennard’s third year with the team and third straight year with a training camp/preseason injury. It’s not great for Dennard or the Bengals. Expect to see young cornerbacks looking for a chance at making the roster playing tonight.

PUP List

Tyler Eifert

An ankle injury in the Pro Bowl has sidelined Eifert for the entire offseason. His exact recovery time still seems to be a bit up in the air. But, it’s a pretty safe bet to say that he won’t play at all in the preseason and definitely won’t play tonight as he remains on the PUP list.

Brandon Thompson

Thompson tore his ACL in Week 17 of the 2015 season and has been recovering ever since. He very likely will start the year on the PUP list and if that proves true, we won’t be seeing him until at least Week 7 of the 2016 season.