DJ Turner II, Other Bengals Defenders Injured Against Titans

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Cincinnati is dealing with a few injuries at the defensive end position during Sunday's game against Tennessee, along with a problem for DJ Turner. Rookie Cashius Howell is out with a right wrist injury as well, and Cedric Johnson is questionable to return to the game with an ankle injury (now out).
Turner headed to the locker room in the fourth quarter and is out.
"Cedric Johnson has a left ankle injury. His return is questionable. DE Cashius Howell has a right wrist injury. He has been declared out," The Bengals posted on X.
The Bengals are trailing 28-23 as of this writing after forcing a safety late in the third quarter and then fumbling away possession a few plays later. Cincinnati is trying to get to 5-2 in the 2026 season and keep their momentum rolling from the past few weeks.
They entered this game as giant favorites to win but haven't lived up to that. A bunch of defensive injuries would be tough to swallow, having already gone through the bye week this season.
Joe Burrow is going to have to step up through these injuries; alas, he's thrown three interceptions in this game, marking just the third time in his career that's happened.
"I've never been around that detailed of a guy. It's not just a rep in practice or the game," Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said this week. "It's all the things around those reps that he does to prepare himself. He could probably articulate it 1,000 times better than I can. I'm just observing what I see from him. I don't talk to him about it that much.
"It's just that I've just, from a distance, always sat there and watched him in all sorts of areas and tried to prove my own quarterback knowledge, because it's really impressive watching how he goes about putting himself in a position to make the plays he does and be as accurate as he is. Because he's the most accurate in the world. He is the most accurate. It's really impressive."
Cincinnati is trying to avoid a huge upset loss at home.
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Russ Heltman is on the Bearcats and Bengals beat for On SI. He is the morning host and producer for 89.3 WMKV in Cincinnati, OH. Russ can be found on Twitter: @RussHeltman11 or you can reach him by email at Heltmandm@yahoo.com.