The Bengals still have several key players not able to fully practice ahead of Sunday’s date with the Steelers.
The good news is starting left guard Clint Boling returned to practice Thursday while battling a hip injury. He actually got in a full session today, so it looks like he’s good to go for Sunday.
The bad news is several key players were unable to practice fully or at all. Among the limited participants were William Jackson (knee), John Ross (groin) and Cedric Ogbuehi (wrist). Jackson needs to get in a full session on Friday to avoid being listed on the final injury report.
Ross missed last week with his injury, so he likely needs to get in a full session just to be listed as questionable this week.
It’s unclear how Ogbuehi suffered his injury (likely in practice) but he’s been a healthy scratch anyhow, so losing him is inconsequential.
Giovani Bernard remained sidelined and is likely out this week, leaving Joe Mixon and Mark Walton to carry the backfield load. Thomas Rawls was waived this week, leaving only two healthy backs on the roster.
As for the Steelers, safety Morgan Burnett remains out with his groin injury and looks unlikely for Sunday, as does backup linebacker L.J. Fort (ankle). It looks like starting guard Ramon Foster got a veteran’s rest day off on Thursday.