When Cincinnati Bengals safety Jessie Bates III was in unfamiliar territory on Thursday Night Football last week, he said he initially tried to play it cool.
Before the Bengals’ Week 4 win, Bates had never missed an NFL game. He had played in 99% of the Bengals defensive snaps in 2018, 2019 and 2020, and he had missed only one snap during the entire 2021 season before Week 4.
When Bates missed the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars with a neck injury, his initial plan was to just watch from the sideline. But after the Bengals went down 14-0, Bates ended up talking to his teammates and firing up the crowd.
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“I was letting the guys play, and then we started off slow,” Bates said. “My energy picked up throughout the night to get the fans involved. That’s something I’ve got to do better at as a player, talk to players and tell them what I’m thinking and why I do the things that I do instead of keeping it a secret.”
Bates is expected to return to the Bengals starting lineup on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers. The Bengals will get their best defensive player back, and Bates said he picked up perspective while he missed his first NFL game.
Bates injured his neck while making a hit in Week 3 against the Pittsburgh Steelers. At the time, leaving the game wasn’t an option. Even though he said he briefly laid on the ground after he made the hit, Bates didn’t even miss a snap.
“My adrenaline was going, and we were whooping Pittsburgh,” Bates said. “So I didn’t think about the neck as much.”
When his neck was still stiff the next day, one reality of being an NFL safety set in for Bates.
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“It was scary when I had the hit,” he said. “If you do an MRI on any safety in this league on their neck, there will be something that shows there.”
Bates said he thought he could have played against the Jaguars, but he knew that he couldn’t take a neck injury lightly. He credited the training staff for developing a plan to get him back on the field quickly, and Bates has been a full participant in practice this week.
“I looked at it as an opportunity to hit the reset button early,” Bates said. “We have our bye week in Week 9, so this was kind of my bye week to reset my mentality.”
And now Bates is coming back at the perfect time for the Bengals. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers is one of the best in the NFL at extending plays and throwing the ball deep down the field. Bates’ strength is covering the entire middle of the field and preventing quarterbacks from creating explosive plays.
Bates joked that if he picked off Rodgers, he’d ask for him to sign the ball after the game. If the Bengals defense has success against Rodgers, it’d be an accomplishment for a defense set to face its first top-10 quarterback of the season.
“It’ll be a bigger test on every level,” Bates said. “In the (Packers) wide receiver room, running back room, quarterback, they’re all top tier players in this league. That’s why it’ll be more of a challenge for us… This is a really good offense, very explosive. Excited to see how we can come out.”
Bengals cornerback Trae Waynes 'feeling good'
BIG RETURN: Bengals cornerback Trae Waynes missed his first 19 games with the Bengals with two different injuries, and he made his team debut against the Jaguars.
While Waynes gave up a deep reception last week, defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo said Waynes is getting closer to playing his best football. On Wednesday, Waynes intercepted a pass in practice.
“(He’s) just feeling good about ‘Hey, I’ve got my legs back underneath me, my leg doesn’t hurt, I played 50, 60 plays the other night, I’ll have a full week of practice, now’” Anarumo said. “I think he’ll get better as each week goes. I know he wants to really do well.”
Cincinnati Bengals injury report
INJURY REPORT: Bengals running back Joe Mixon hasn’t practiced this week with an ankle injury. If Mixon can’t play on Sunday, Samaje Perine and Chris Evans would be a part of a rotation in the backfield.
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Cornerback Chidobe Awuzie practiced on Thursday. Since Awuzie missed the game against Jacksonville, the Bengals could have all three of their starting cornerbacks this week for the first time all season.
Center Trey Hopkins was not in pads for practice on Thursday, and he missed practice on Wednesday. Hopkins tore his ACL in January, but he has started all four games for the Bengals this year.
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