Bengals players who need to get healthy over the bye week

The BYE week is a perfect time for teams to rest up and get healthy for the second half of the season and that's exactly what the Cincinnati Bengals will look to do on their week off.

Here are a few Bengals players that need to get healthy during the BYE week.

Ja'Marr Chase

It wasn't all smiles in the Bengals' blowout win over the Falcons in Week 8, as star receiver Ja'Marr Chase got banged up and hasn't played since getting injured. The last time Zac Taylor discussed Chase's injury situation, there wasn't anything new to report.

The initial diagnosis, however, was that the star wideout would miss 4-6 weeks. If this ended up holding true, that means the earliest he'd return would be for Week 12 against the Titans. The offense struggled without Chase in Week 8 against the Browns but they rebounded in Week 9, thanks to Joe Mixon's five-touchdown performance vs Carolina.

Chase is a huge part of the Bengals offense so having him back sooner rather than later is obviously preferred.

D.J. Reader

The win over the Jets in Week 3 came at a price, as Reader injured his knee and was placed on IR. The defensive line has missed Reader mightily but fortunately, it appears that the defensive lineman is on track to return "sooner rather than later", per Taylor.

If Reader is able to return, the Bengals run defense should improve and it'd come at the perfect time for this team to get hot and make a run at the playoffs.

Mike Hilton

While it didn't end up being a big deal due to the five touchdown performance from Mixon, the Bengals secondary was short-handed on Sunday and Hilton was one of the cornerbacks who didn't play. He had a finger injury and missed the game against the Panthers.

Some fans complained that Hilton should have "manned up" and played through a finger injury and that's a ridiculous opinion to have. He joked about that in an interview stating that this is 2022 so he wouldn't be pulling a Ronnie Lott.

Regardless, Hilton has said that he had surgery on his finger and will be suiting up to play against his old team.

Josh Tupou

Tupou hasn't played since Week 6 against the Saints due to a nagging calf injury. The former Colorado product has been a wonderful depth piece for the Bengals since his second year in 2018 and his production has been missed over the past three games.

Dax Hill

For the most part, it's been a disappointing rookie campaign for Hill, who has appeared in just 8% of defensive snaps. Even this past week with a banged up secondary, Hill didn't get to prove himself much and ended up injuring his shoulder.

Hill is considered "week-to-week" per Taylor so this is a good chance for him to get healthy and ready to go for Week 11 against Pittsburgh.

Chris Evans

Mixon ran wild in Week 9 but that wasn't the only reason the game was a disappointment for Evans, who a lot of people thought would be a much bigger factor in year 2 of his career. Evans left the game early on with what was later said to be a knee injury.

Evans, like Hill, is week-to-week and he can use this week off to rest up and return for Week 11. There's proof that Evans can be a great weapon in this offense but when he finally had the chance to show that, Mixon went off to the tune of five touchdowns and Evans ended up getting hurt.

These six players need to use the BYE week to get healthy so that they can return and help propel the Cincinnati Bengals to the playoffs.