Zac Taylor Details Injuries to DJ Turner II, Cashius Howell Following Win Over Titans

Cincinnati has some key defenders fighting through injury after being pretty healthy entering the Titans game.

Cincinnati Bengals cornerback DJ Turner II is helped from the field with an injury in the fourth quarter of the NFL Week 8 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Tennessee Titans at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2026. The Bengals played to a 43-36 overtime win against the Titans. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Bengals Head coach Zac Taylor spoke to the media on Monday and updated on where things stand with injuries to Cedric Johnson (ankle), Cashius Howell (wrist), and DJ Turner (heel).

Howell is already in a cast after getting surgery on the wrist, and Taylor confirmed he is likely going on injured reserve, while Turner and Johnson are day-to-day and will travel to Spain with a chance to play this week.

Cincinnati is hitting the skies for their Sunday morning game in Madrid against the Falcons.

"I'm not going to say that yet, but probably trending in that direction," Taylor said about Howell going on injured reserve. Both Turner and Johnson have much less serious injuries.

The defensive end depth is murkier than it's ever been this season as Cincinnati tries to keep up its great production along that part of the defense. Shemar Stewart is the only healthy backup DE behind Myles Murphy and Boye Mafe.

The whole unit got embarrassed a bit across the Titans' 36-point showing on Sunday, but they made enough plays to pull out the win.

"Absolutely. I think any time you win, that's a big box to check," Taylor said about the team still having momentum this season. "I know we have the guys in there that are happy we won, but they're not satisfied with our overall performance. Each position group will go through that and find things we have to be better at. That's just part of it. Obviously it's better to do after a win, but that doesn't mean you can dismiss some of the things we know we have to clean up."

Cincinnati is going through a sped-up week, with all of the main parts of their workweek happening in the morning hours of Eastern Standard Time while they live in Central European Time.

"It speeds up the earlier part of your week, so that we can travel on Tuesday night," Taylor noted. "It changes your days a little bit. For the players, it doesn't make it more taxing. It's a little more taxing on the coaches. But it's like playing on a Monday night and having to turn around on a short week. Nothing we haven't had to do before — nothing to complain about. It just changes the structure of how you'll meet."

Cincinnati is trying to get to 6-2 overall this weekend.

JUST IN: Bengals CB DJ Turner II heads to the locker room after suffering a lower body injury in the 4th. @WDTN pic.twitter.com/RsZ9fCMjJG

— Joey DeBerardino (@JoeyDeBerardino) November 1, 2026

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