Zac Taylor gives updates on status of Tee Higgins, Trey Hendrickson and Tyler Boyd

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Several key players are dealing with injuries right now and although it’s still early in the week, the list of injured players is long.

Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd

Wide receivers Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd are viewed as “day-to-day” with their respective injuries. Higgins is nursing a hamstring injury that occurred last week ahead of the win against the Browns. The former second-round pick reaggravated his hamstring in warmups and Taylor decided to sit him for the game. Boyd’s injury came on the second play of the game when he dislocated his finger and he didn’t return.

“TB (Tyler Boyd) has a finger dislocation, and so we'll see where that's at through the week” Taylor said during a press conference on Monday. “Again, they had to make sure they flushed it out so it didn't get infected. It's a painful deal, but we'll see where he's at through the week. Tee's hamstring, again, that popped up in pregame and it just got to crunch time and I thought the best decision was to keep him out. So, we'll see where he's at this week as well. We've got two more days of player day off and we'll see where he's at.”

Trey Hendrickson

Pro Bowl defensive end Trey Hendrickson suffered a wrist injury against Cleveland and Taylor was not ready to give a timeline for his return. When asked if Hendrickson needed to go on injured reserve, Taylor quickly said that’s not happening.

“We'll see where he's at through the week, but I'm not ready to rule him out,” Taylor said.

The news of Hendrickson’s wrist injury surfaced following the game when NFL Network reported he suffered a broken wrist and is expected to miss a few weeks. He was able to play through the injury and finish the game. Hendrickson has six sacks on the year and ranks No. 2 in quarterback hurries.

Joseph Ossai

Cincinnati’s second-year edge rusher hurt his shoulder in the Week 13 contest also. If Hendrickson is unable to play against the Buccaneers, it was expected Ossai would start in his place. As of Monday afternoon, it’s unclear if Ossai is going to be able to play.

“Ossai was a shoulder and so really there's a lot of guys that fit the same status right now,” Taylor said. “We're gonna get through a couple more days and see how they are feeling as the week goes.”

As far as if Ossai and Hendrickson can’t go against Tampa Bay, Taylor said they are still working out what the defensive line rotation will be.

Cam Sample is likely to step in as he sits behind Sam Hubbard on the depth chart. Rookie Jeff Gunter could also see time depending on the level of comfort defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo has with him at this point.

Hayden Hurst

Hurst injured his calf against the Kansas City Chiefs and missed Sunday’s game against the Browns. He’s unlikely to play against Tampa Bay but is expected to be back in the coming weeks. With Hurst on the sidelines, backup tight end Mitchell Wilcox took over as TE1 and will continue to do so. Wilcox caught one pass for 10 yards against Cleveland.

For the most part, the Bengals have avoided the injury bug in terms of long-term injuries. DJ Reader and Ja’Marr Chase both missed several games but were able to come back for the season. Cornerback Chidobe Awuzie is the only starter who suffered a season-ending injury so far.

Taylor is optimistic about the return of the players listed above.

“It's never as bad as it could be,” he said. “You know, it's again, no one going on IR, a bunch of guys that we're just gonna have to see where they're at as the week goes but really came in to today feeling pretty positive about where things stand. And it's just that point of the year where it's a physical game and so you're gonna have a lot of guys like that.”

The Bengals return to the practice field on Wednesday and that’s when the first injury report for the Week 14 contest will be released.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Bengals injury updates on Tee Higgins, Trey Hendrickson and Tyler Boyd