The Cincinnati Bengals have now wrapped up their Wednesday practice ahead of Saturday’s AFC Wild Card game against the Pittsburgh Steelers and their initial injury report only includes three players listed on it.
Not practicing Wednesday were quarterback Andy Dalton (thumb) and tight end Ryan Hewitt (knee) and both are expected to miss Saturday’s game because of their injuries.
With Dalton expected to sidelined yet again, backup A.J. McCarron will make his first career playoff start in his absence. Since taking over for the injured Dalton, McCarron has thrown 6 touchdowns versus 2 interceptions and has completed 66.4% of his pass attempts.
The third player on the Bengals injury report, cornerback Leon Hall (back), practiced fully on Wednesday. While Hall has battled a bad back all season, it looks like he’ll be fine for Saturday’s game in Cincinnati.
The Bengals also placed backup defensive tackle Brandon Thompson on the team’s Reserve/Injured list Wednesday and signed undrafted rookie defensive tackle DeShawn Williams to take his spot on the 53-man roster.
