Bengals activate Andrew Hawkins to the 53-man roster

The moment we've been waiting for has come.

The Cincinnati Bengals announced on Thursday that wide receiver Andrew Hawkins has been activated onto the team's 53-man roster. Hawkins had spent the first eight weeks on the team's Injured Reserve list with a designation to return, rehabilitating from a high-ankle sprain that he suffered during training camp.

Hawkins was eligible to begin practicing two weeks ago but only began practicing last week. Cincinnati's Thursday Night game against the Miami Dolphins is the first that he was eligible to play this year. Considering that Mohamed Sanu is dealing with a shoulder injury that forced him out of the second half against the Jets while being extremely limited this week during practice, Hawkins' arrival couldn't possibly timed better.

The Bengals didn't need to make a corresponding roster move after they placed safety Taylor Mays on Injured Reserve on Wednesday without promoting anyone.

Cincinnati also announced that they've signed DeQuin Evans to the practice squad. Cincinnati had an available spot after offensive tackle Reid Fragel was signed by the Cleveland Browns. Evans, who spent the first eight weeks on the league's suspended list after his second violation against the league's PED policy, was cleared on Monday and released Tuesday. Once he cleared waivers, the team was allowed to bring him back to their practice squad.