Bengals vs. 49ers injury report: Joe Mixon among 3 game-time decisions

Entering the week, the Cincinnati Bengals had several injuries to worry about for their matchup with the San Francisco 49ers. The closed out their week of practice with more good news than bad.

Starting with the bad, Chris Evan (ankle) will miss his second-straight game. The rookie hasn’t practiced since before Week 12. His injury is why Trayveon Williams was signed onto the active roster from the practice squad, and Williams may be involved more this week for a reason we’ll get to in a minute.

Logan Wilson (shoulder) is also out after not practicing this week. The team will not place him on Injured Reserve this weekend, but it’s hard to imagine he’ll be back for their next game or even the week following that.

Evans and Wilson will likely be joined by Tyler Shelvin (illness) and Markus Bailey (stinger) on Sunday’s inactive list. Bailey at least practiced in a limited fashion during the week, but head coach Zac Taylor previously stated they would not rush him back this week.

With luck, those four will be the only injured players they won’t have on Sunday. They’ve also listed Joe Mixon (illness), Tee Higgins (ankle), and Chidobe Awuzie (foot) as questionable, but Taylor seemed optimistic about all three playing.

Higgins and Awuzie returned to practice towards the end of the week, but Mixon was only present with the team on Friday as he watched practice from the sidelines with a mask on. Mixon’s reportedly been dealing with a cold, but if he was able to attend the team’s final practice, there’s hope he can suit up after another day of rest.

If Awuzie is able to go, Trae Waynes (hamstring) may not get activated off of I.R. just yet. Waynes practiced for the first time in nearly two months this week, and the team has two more weeks to move him to the active roster. If Waynes is indeed activated, they’ll have to make room for him. The same goes for D’Ante Smith, who returned to practice along with Waynes.

We won’t have to wait until Sunday for news on Riley Reiff and Trey Hopkins. Both players were full participants Friday and are set to return to the offensive line this week.

And finally, Joe Burrow (pinkie) was a full participant on Friday as well. He’s good to go.

Bengals Injury Report

bengals.com

For the visiting 49ers, RB Trenton Cannon (concussion), LB Dre Greenlaw (groin), DT Maurice Hurst (calf), CB Emmanuel Moseley (ankle) and RB Elijah Mitchell (concussion/knee) have all been declared out. Mitchell is the big name here as the rookie has asserted himself as the lead rusher for the best rushing offenses in the NFL. Without Mitchell, they’ll turn to backup Jeff Wilson, who was a full participant in Friday’s practice (knee).

WR Deebo Samuel (groin) returned to practice on Friday and is listed as questionable. Samuel has been out since suffering his injury in Week 12 against the Minnesota Vikings. The third-year receiver was second in the league in receiving yards entering that game two weeks ago, so his potential return is big news for their offense.

CB Dontae Johnson did not practice Friday for personal reasons, so his status is questionable as well. Johnson became a starter last week due to Moseley’s ankle injury.

49ers Injury Report

bengals.com