Bengals Steelers Football
Cincinnati Bengals safety Jordan Battle (27) reacts during an NFL football game in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Sept. 27, 2026.
With Bryan Cook and Kyle Dugger both still working through injuries that sidelined them for last week’s loss to Jacksonville, the Cincinnati Bengals are once again adjusting their plans at safety.
PJ Jules and practice squad player Russ Yeast split the snaps next to Jordan Battle, and the spotlight remains on that trio as the Bengals progress toward Sunday’s game at Miami with the idea Cook and Dugger could be out or limited.
Bengals coach Zac Taylor said Wednesday, Oct. 7, that both players are up in the air, but Dugger is more likely to be out because of the quadriceps injury he suffered in Week 3. Cook is nursing an ankle injury he also hurt in that game.
Defensive coordinator Al Golden continues preparing Jules and Yeast in the meantime.
“We’ll see where it goes,” Golden said. “We are going to be careful in our assessment. We feel confident now with a game under their belt Russ and PJ will be ready to go.”
Neither had much, if any, experience in the Bengals’ defense prior to Sunday.
Jules, an undrafted college free agent who spent his first season in 2024 on Cincinnati’s practice squad, had been mainly a special teams contributor to this point, previously seeing just nine snaps on defense since the start of 2025.
Yeast, a 2022 seventh-round draft pick of the L.A. Rams who made his Bengals debut Sunday, had played just seven snaps on defense since the start of the 2024 season but had seen significant playing time with the Rams in 2023.
Taylor said he thought both players “rose to the challenge” and took advantage of the opportunity to prove they belong. Yeast said he will be ready if called upon again.
“I’d say things are going pretty smooth,” Yeast said. “I think we did a pretty good job of covering for each other. When one of us goes down, it drives everybody else in the room to keep the play up and keep everybody up, and you know, kind of maintain and try to keep everything afloat.”
Jules played most of the early downs Sunday, in for 40 snaps with 21 of those being on running plays and 19 in coverage, while Yeast covered third downs, seeing just seven snaps on run defense, 12 in coverage and two in the pass rush.
Both contributed to a defense that limited the Jaguars to just three explosive pass plays from Trevor Lawrence, only one of those being a deep completion, as the safeties helped keep everything in front of them.
“We decided to split roles as much as we could so they could execute at a higher level,” Golden said. “They did. Jordan Kovacs did a great job with those guys and they came through for us.”
Missed tackles were the bigger issue, with Jules and Yeast each accounting for one and Battle being charged with two. Taylor said Battle might not have been 100 percent after being limited all week in practice with a hamstring injury he played through in Week 3.
Golden thought Battle took too much criticism for a few bad plays Sunday where others should have been helping out more to gang-tackle the opponent. He’s “got to be better” but it wasn’t all on Battle, he said.
That will continue to be a focus this week is improving tackling and especially not allowing teams to attack so easily down the middle of the field. Miami has struggled offensively behind new quarterback Malik Willis, putting up no more than 13 points in any game so far and managing 300 yards of offense in just one game, a 24-10 loss to Kansas City in Week 3.
Yeast said it’s important for the Bengals to bounce back after two straight losses in games they could have won. He would love the opportunity to contribute to that and will prepare as though he’s going to play.
“It's a mental battle each and every day of making sure that you're still locked into the game plan, still locked in like you're about to play that week,” Yeast said. “So, just keeping your mindset that your number could be called at any time versus trying to get ready when it is called.
“I feel like I bring a lot of experience, even though I haven't played in a little bit. But I know I can make a difference to help this team win as far as being an elite communicator, just helping the guys out in the back end and just owning my role for whatever they ask me to do.”
Buccaneers Bengals Football
Cincinnati Bengals safety Bryan Cook (6) celebrates with teammates Daxton Hill, left, and Jordan Battle, right, after recovering a fumble during the first half of an NFL football game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Sunday, Sept. 13, 2026, in Cincinnati.