Bengals Starter to Miss Extended Time After Suffering Preseason Injury

CINCINNATI – Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said the team pulled safety Geno Stone early Thursday night for a soft-tissue issue and he is considered week to week.

All of the Bengals starters on defense played at least 13 snaps in the 34-27 loss to the Eagles except for Stone, who left the game after just four plays.

Stone grabbed at his hamstring after the third play and stayed in for one more snap before ending his night.

The Bengals are thin at safety, with Tycen Anderson and Daijahn Anthony serving as the backups behind Stone and Jordan Battle.

There will be plenty of discussion about the Bengals possibly adding a safety in the coming days. They believe in Anderson and Anthony, but their depth is certainly going to be tested.

"That's a group that we're looking to make sure we're deep enough there. So they're gonna continue to get a lot of opportunities, certainly with Geno being out," Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said. "So I think it's a good chance to really see where they're at in their development. They've got to contribute on special teams. They've got to prove that they can walk in there and help us on defense as well. Those are guys that these next six practices will be really good for."

Taylor said he expects cornerback Dax Hill to take part in the majority of drills over the next six practices before the Aug. 18 game at Washington.

The Bengals are bringing Hill along slowly as he works his way back from ACL surgery. He's expected to play the boundary cornerback role and in the nickel. Cincinnati expects the former first round pick to be ready to go for Week 1 against the Browns.

The availability of cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt is less clear as he also deals with a soft-tissue issue. But Taylor said he doesn’t need to see the corner play against the Commanders. The team remains cautious with their veteran players that are nicked up with different injuries.

Taylor said the team will get through the week and see where tight end Mike Gesicki is after he left last Saturday’s practice with a hamstring issue.

Gesicki hasn't practiced since tweaking his hamstring. Meanwhile, veteran Noah Fant is expected to ramp things up now that he's been in the offense for more than a week.

Look for Fant to get in the mix over the next few practices and participate in team drills for the first time.

The Bengals don't play the Commanders until Monday, Aug. 18. That gives them plenty of time to work on their rotations and get past their injuries in practice.

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