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Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis expects the Bengals to be healthier against the Patriots

Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis is projecting the return of several players when the team heads to New England for an important conference game on Sunday Night.

Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

When the Cincinnati Bengals released their inactive list against the Tennessee Titans, six of the seven inactive players were unable to play with injuries.

It's suspected that linebacker Vontaze Burfict has suffered a concussion in each of the first two games this season -- so he sat against the Titans. Also out against Tennessee were guard Kevin Zeitler (calf), running back Rex Burkhead (knee), Sean Porter (hamstring), wide receiver Marvin Jones (foot) and defensive tackle Brandon Thompson (knee).

And the one healthy player on the team's inactive list was cornerback Chris Lewis-Harris, who just served a two-game suspension for violating the league's substance-abuse policy.

The good news is that head coach Marvin Lewis expects to have most of these players back when Cincinnati plays their next game -- an Oct. 5 Sunday Night game in New England.

Porter, Burkhead and Jones suffered preseason injuries and Burfict missed his first NFL game Sunday. Jones hinted as much, saying "we'll see" when the media pressed him about returning for week five.

Zeitler and Thompson could be out through the middle of October, at least.