Bengals vs Bears injury roundup

The Bengals made it out of Thursday night without much to talk about on the injury front, which is the biggest thing we could’ve hoped for as fans watching the game. It is never good to see a player go down with an injury, and it is even worse when it happens during a game that doesn’t really count.

The biggest scare from Thursday night was when Vincent Rey went down in the first quarter and needed help of the field. That luckily only turned out to be a sprained ankle though.

Rey is in a battle for a starting spot with Jordan Evans. Whoever wins will be Vontaze Burfict’s replacement during his four-game suspension. Evans was the one who started the game in Burfict’s spot for the first preseason game. Luckily for Rey, none of the linebackers lower on the depth chart really made any waves, so his spot on the roster at least remains secure for now.

The only other injury that occurred on Thursday night was to Trayvon Henderson. He is the undrafted rookie safety out of Hawaii. He injured himself on a nice play while covering a punt. He limited the punt returner to a very minimal gain when it looked like he was about to break to the outside.

After he stopped the runner, Henderson was slow to get up. He walked over to the sideline where it was determined that he hurt his ribs. The he was given the indication that his return would be questionable, but he eventually made his way back onto the field.

It is great news that Henderson was able to make it back to the field. His path to the 53-man roster is a bit of a long shot, but making a play like he did on special teams will likely get him closer that goal.

The NFL’s new rules regarding special teams not allowing wedge blocking could open up more spots for more athletic talent to cover kicks on the roster. At the very least he is securing his spot on the practice squad.

Henderson was also helped out by Brandon Wilson taking a terrible angle and struggling at the safety position. Also Josh Shaw has seemed to fall out of favor since last season, so he could very well be on his way out.

Overall, though, the Bengals had a successful outing with their first string and walked away healthy. As a fan that is the dream scenario. Here is to three more weeks of hopefully the same result.’