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Tee Higgins and Ja’Marr Chase are trending in the right direction for the Bengals.
The Cincinnati Bengals are looking to snap their two-game losing streak and get back into the win column, which will be easier if Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins play.
The team’s latest roster moves suggest that will be the case.
“#Bengals raise safety Russ Yeast,” The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. reports in a post on X on October 10, added “The fact that they didn’t call up a WR from PS certainly opens the door for Ja’Marr Chase AND Tee Higgins to play tomorrow.”
ESPN’s Ben Baby added a third wide receiver, Colbie Young, to the list of those likely to be active on game day despite the injury designation.
Safety Russ Yeast was the only player the Bengals moved up.
Both Chase (concussion) and Higgins (groin/neck) began the week of practice as non-participants. They progressed at different rates, but the Bengals star wideout duo finished the week as full participants.
Young participated in at least a limited capacity throughout the week, sandwiching a full day between partial participations.
Bengals Roster Moves Telling Stories About Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and More
Yeast’s addition is about more than Chase and Higgins’ respective statuses. This comes as “no surprise,” according to ESPN’s Mike Petraglia, given the injury to Kyle Dugger.
“The yeast is classified as a standard elevation,” the Bengals said in the official announcement. “As a practice squad player being elevated to the active roster for the game, he will automatically return to the practice squad on Monday.”
This is the second elevation for Yeast.
The Bengals can raise Yeast once, per NFL rules. After that, they have to sign him to the 53-man roster or find another game day option. Maybe Dugger will be healthy next week.
Dugger was the only player among the 12 players on the injury report to be cleared early. Pregame warmups will inform the game day inactives list, which is still very much about Chase, Higgins, and many others.
Josh Buckhalter covers the NBA and NFL for Heavy.com. He has covered both leagues since 2016, including bylines on FanSided, Last Word on Sports and Clocker Sports. He is based in Villa Park, Illinois. Follow Josh on Twitter and Instagram: @JoshGBuck More about Josh Buckhalter