The Cincinnati Bengals have ruled out linebacker Vontaze Burfict, tight end Tyler Eifert and guard Clint Boling for Saturday's game against the Houston Texans, it was announced Friday.
Wide receiver A.J. Green (hamstring), who told reporters Thursday he would play, is officially listed as questionable on the injury report, as is running back Jeremy Hill, who tweaked his knee against the Steelers on Sunday.
This will be Green's first game back since he was carted off with a hamstring injury against the Bills in Week 11.
Burfict was evaluated for a concussion during Sunday's game against Pittsburgh and briefly left, but passed protocol and returned to play in the game. He self-reported concussion symptoms a few days later and was put through protocol again. The Bengals held him out of practice all week.
Practice squad linebacker P.J. Dawson was promoted to the active roster with Burfict out.
Eifert (back) has not missed a game since making his season debut against the Browns in Week 7. He sat out prior to that as he rehabbed from ankle and back injuries.
Boling has been dealing with a shoulder issue since a Week 4 game against the Dolphins, but he hadn't missed a snap since. This will be Boling's first missed game since late 2013, when he tore his ACL.
With Boling out, the Bengals will likely move Andrew Whitworth to guard and try 2015 first-rounder Cedric Ogbuehi at left tackle. Whitworth moved to guard briefly in 2013 after Boling went down. Ogbuehi started at right tackle earlier in the season, but struggled and was eventually benched before the team moved him to left tackle.
Defensive end Michael Johnson (shoulder) is questionable, and tight end Tyler Kroft (knee/ankle) has been ruled out.
