A Bengals rookie is active after missing a week, and the Browns do something interesting at quarterback.
The Battle of Ohio is about to start. The Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns always seem to have a back-and-forth rivalry regardless of record, and this one has the makings for a very physical game.
Here are both team’s inactives:
Bengals inactives
- Trenton Irwin, WR
- Cedric Johnson, DE
- Andrew Stueber, OG/OT
- Lawrence Guy, DT
- Tanner McLachlan, TE
- Jay Tufele, DT
The Bengals are relatively healthy coming into the game. Everyone on the injury report ended the week with a full participant designation.
A noticeable absence here is rookie wide receiver Jermaine Burton, who was a healthy scratch last week against the New York Giants. Maybe the rookie can come in and provide a boost against a talented secondary that will be focused on stopping Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins.
Trenton Irwin instead being a healthy scratch is interesting as well. He has been a dependable veteran player. He has been a go-to guy for Joe Burrow in certain situations, as well as a nice backup punt returner with reliable hands.
Browns Inactives
- Jameis Winston, QB (QB three designation)
- Kahlef Hailassie, CB
- Ronnie Hickman, S
- Jerome Ford, RB
- Nate Watson, LB
- Quinton Jefferson, DT
The biggest news of the day is running back Nick Chubb is healthy for the first time since suffering a knee last season. His backup — running back Jerome Ford — will be out with a hamstring injury, so we will likely see plenty of Chubb today.
They are also making Dorian Thompson-Robinson the backup quarterback. Winston will be available if both Deshaun Watson and Thompson-Robinson are unable to play due to injury (not for general benching reasons), but that is an interesting move as Watson has struggled all season in this offense.