Bengals May Have Dodged A Bullet With Their Biggest Injury Concern

52 of the 53 players who make up the Cincinnati Bengals’ active roster practiced Labor Day afternoon to begin preparations for Sunday’s opener against the Cleveland Browns. The lone exception was third-year edge defender Joseph Ossai.

Head coach Zac Taylor said after Monday’s practice that Ossai, who suffered an ankle sprain during the preseason finale on August 26, is considered day-to-day.

Joseph Ossai didn’t practice today he spent practice time on the rehab field. Zac Taylor says he’s “day to day.”

Ossai originally said it could be up to 4 weeks with his ankle sprain but was hopeful it wouldn’t be that. Sounds like progress has been made

— Kelsey Conway (@KelseyLConway) September 4, 2023

This is by far the best case scenario for Ossai, who was in uniform on Monday doing rehab work. The 23-year old suffered what has been reported to be a high ankle sprain during the team’s final preseason game on August 26. That injury usually takes several weeks to fully recover from, but Ossai’s recovery looks to be much shorter.

While it’s still unlikely for Ossai to play in Sunday’s game if he wasn’t practicing six days beforehand, this definitely opens the door for him to return the following week or the week after that. This also backs up why the Bengals chose not to place him on the Reserve/Injured list following roster cuts.

Taylor provided more good news for the defense in announcing that cornerback Chidobe Awuzie will play in Cleveland, just over 10 months after he tore his ACL on the very same field.

Awuzie has been slowly integrated back into practice for Cincinnati ever since the beginning of training camp. Only recently did he partake in 11-on-11 work, though he appeared physically capable of doing so for some time now.

Zac Taylor said Chidobe Awuzie will play on Sunday. A great comeback from a torn ACL.

— Charlie Goldsmith (@CharlieG__) September 4, 2023

Once Ossai comes back, the Bengals will look to unleash a fully-stocked defense. Cam Sample and Myles Murphy will pick up the slack off the edge in the interim, but the unit is in a very good place to start the year.