Cornerback Darqueze Dennard passed muster before Sunday’s game against the Browns but rookie wide receiver John Ross didn’t as Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis made out his inactive sheet.
Dennard, who tweaked his knee early in last week’s win in Denver, missed practice Wednesday and Thursday and was limited Friday but apparently made enough progress in the last 48 hours to get the call. That put cornerback KeiVarae Russell on the bench despite last week’s blocked field goal at the end of the half.
Middle linebacker Kevin Minter (elbow) was back in the lineup for the first since Oct.