CINCINNATI — There was a bit of a surprising sight when the Bengals took to the Paycor Stadium field Tuesday night under the lights.
No. 91 was in his practice jersey and striped pants, ready to take part in the only on-field prep of the week for the Ravens Thursday night. Just two days after Noah Brown rolled into his left knee, causing a hyper-extension, Trey Hendrickson was on the field, helmet on, going through his typical drills at what appeared to be full speed.
This is clearly a good sign that Hendrickson intends on trying to play Thursday night, barring any late setbacks before the 8:15 p.m. ET kickoff.
Trey Hendrickson going fast on several individual drills. pic.twitter.com/FoqFkOpZTv
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) November 14, 2023
Hendrickson had an MRI that revealed only the hyperextended knee and no further structural damage. He was spotted walking through the locker room after the game and on Monday during media availability with no apparent limp, usually a positive sign.
Hendrickson had a smile on his face as he laughed with DJ Reader and chatter with trainer Mike Houk.
The news was not as encouraging for Sam Hubbard (ankle), Tee Higgins (hamstring) and Andrei Iosivas (knee). All three did not participate, a pretty clear indicator they won’t be available. For Hubbard and Higgins, it would be the second straight game they miss while Iosivas suffered his injury during the loss to the Texans.
Game status reports will come out on Wednesday, indicating the likely availability of injured players.
Joe Burrow was clearly limited and hobbled by his right calf in the Week 2 loss to the Ravens, a game in which he nearly brought the Bengals back before falling short, 27-24. The game was rough at the onset, as Burrow couldn’t move that much out of the pocket in just his second game back from the injury.
Then he tweaked the same calf in a different spot late in the game, as he came off the field after a touchdown pass to Tee Higgins. The Bengals couldn’t get the ball back from Lamar Jackson, who killed the final 3:28 of play clock to seal the win for the Ravens.
“I wasn’t obviously feeling my best at that point,” Burrow said. “I didn’t quite have my full toolbox in there. I thought we did some good things in the second half. The first half we didn’t have a ton of plays. They did a good job. We found some explosives in the second half. That’s what we have to try to do. They do a great job of limiting those explosive plays and you have to try to find them, because they’re going to do a really good job on offense keeping the ball, running it and scoring points. We’re going to have to do the same.”
" Joe Burrow says he didn't have his "full toolbox" in Week 2 loss to Ravens. Will he to find ways for more explosive plays. pic.twitter.com/fOqUGaQStx
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) November 14, 2023
Burrow finished 27-of-41 for 222 yards, two touchdowns to Higgins and the costly red zone pick to Geno Stone in the third quarter.
“They do a great job with him in the structure of their defense,” Burrow told me. “They know what quarterbacks are trying to look at to try to figure out what coverage it is, and they know exactly how to position themselves with their hips and their feet to make that hard to know. And he does a really good job.”
Thursday night will be as intense as it gets, as Ravens fans want to see their team bury the AFC North hopes of the Bengals.
“It’s a fun environment,” Burrow said, recalling last year’s 19-17 Ravens win on a last-second Justin Tucker field goal. “It gets loud. It kind of feels like a college atmosphere in those prime time moments, so it’s going to be fun.
“You just got to feel the game out and see what it calls for. Every game calls for something different from the quarterback. We’ll see how it plays out.”
