Zac Taylor provides good news ahead of week 14 matchup vs 49ers

The Cincinnati Bengals are hoping to bounce back after a rough loss to the Chargers on Sunday. Head coach Zac Taylor spoke to the media following Friday’s practice and offered good news as far as injuries were concerned.

As we know, the injury bug hadn’t really hit the Bengals much this season but it bit all at once, hitting Cincy hard in their week 13 loss. Logan Wilson, Chidobe Awuzie, Joe Mixon, and some guy named Joe Burrow were just a few of the casualties during that weird loss to the Bolts.

Taylor fielded questions on Friday, however, and gave mostly good news.

Zac Taylor had mostly good news for Bengals fans

First and foremost, Taylor discussed the status of Burrow, who dislocated his pinky on his throwing hand early in the game on Sunday. Burrow continued to battle like it was nothing but when the broadcast showed him wincing on the sideline after throwing a pass, we all felt for the kid.

Fortunately, Burrow threw at practice this week and Taylor said there weren’t any limitations for the Bengals star quarterback.

It’s obviously great news that Burrow is good to go but what about his weapons? We saw Mixon exit the game on Sunday but return in time to fumble (a rarity for the Oklahoma product). We also heard the news of Tee Higgins missing practice this week.

Taylor confirmed that both guys should be suiting up on Sunday in a key matchup against the 49ers. This means the Bengals will have their star running back and recent breakout receiver. They’ll need all the help they can get, so this is obviously excellent news!

Someone who’s been injured for the entirety of his Bengals career is Trae Waynes, who has appeared in just two games since signing with the team in the 2020 offseason. Waynes missed all of last year and played just two games this season before landing on IR.

Taylor offered an update on the cornerback and said he expects him to play on Sunday. This is good news considering the injury to Awuzie. Taylor said the final decision with Awuzie will be made on Sunday but right now, it’s looking good for the free-agent corner to play.

The biggest injury news, aside from Burrow, in the loss to the Chargers was Logan Wilson, who was carted off during the game. The linebackers stepped up in his absence but there’s no replacing what Wilson can do on the field.

While Wilson won’t play on Sunday, which isn’t a surprise, Taylor told the media that the Wyoming product won’t be placed on injured reserve this week.

Considering all of the injuries the Bengals had thrown at them last week, this feels like the best-case scenario. Riley Reiff and Trey Hopkins have practiced throughout the week as well so while the injury bug came to Cincinnati hoping to shatter the team’s playoff hopes, we’ve received mostly good news.

Hopefully, this is the worst of it.

Bengals-49ers kicks off at 4:25 EST on Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium.