CINCINNATI -- The Cincinnati Bengals will be without five starters Thursday night, while the Cleveland Browns will miss two of their best offensive weapons.
Headlining the lists of inactives for the Bengals, as expected, was running back Giovani Bernard. He was officially ruled out by coach Marvin Lewis earlier in the morning after having originally been declared doubtful on Wednesday's injury report. Offensive tackle Andre Smith, cornerback Leon Hall, and linebackers Vontaze Burfict and Rey Maualuga are also out of tonight's game.
For the Browns, receiver Andrew Hawkins joined tight end Jordan Cameron among the list of inactives, meaning Cleveland's offense will be at a serious deficit. Already without its top pass-catcher, Josh Gordon, because of an offseason suspension, the Browns' passing hopes now fall onto Miles Austin's shoulders. He'll be called upon to take over as the top receiving target with Hawkins out due to thigh and knee injuries.
Hawkins had tested his legs out several hours before the game, and appeared to be moving well. Hawkins, who played for the Bengals from 2011-13 and was returning to Paul Brown Stadium for the first time, will be replaced by Taylor Gabriel.
Bernard will be replaced by rookie Jeremy Hill, who rushed for a career-high 154 yards on 24 carries and two touchdowns in last week's 33-23 win over the Jaguars. Veteran backup Marshall Newhouse will replace Smith, while Adam Jones and Darqueze Dennard could combine to replace Hall. Burfict had arthroscopic knee surgery last week, and Maualuga may be one week away from returning from a serious hamstring injury.
Here is the full list of inactives for both teams:
Bengals inactives
RB Giovani Bernard
WR Leon Hall
LB Vontaze Burfict
LB Rey Maualuga
OL Andre Smith
DE Will Clarke
Browns inactives
WR Andrew Hawkins
DB Pierre Desir
TE Jordan Cameron
