Bengals again without Giovani Bernard

Coley Harvey, ESPN Staff WriterOct 30, 2014, 04:47 PM ET
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- Previously covered Florida State for Orlando Sentinel and Georgia Tech for Macon Telegraph
- Northwestern University graduate
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CINCINNATI -- Giovani Bernard might soon miss the first game of his career.

The second-year Cincinnati Bengals running back missed his second straight practice Thursday afternoon. Like Wednesday, he didn't make it on the practice fields while his teammates worked out.

He hasn't been officially ruled out for Sunday's game against Jacksonville, but if Bernard doesn't practice Friday, expect to see him shelved. Very seldom will head coach Marvin Lewis' players play on Sundays without at least practicing on Fridays.

Don't try to convince Bernard's backfield mate that he's done for this weekend, though. Rookie running back Jeremy Hill said Thursday that he anticipated seeing Bernard on the field this weekend.

"Gio will be ready to go. He's a tough guy," Hill said. "I expect him to be out there. If he is, he is. If he's not, he's not. I'm preparing like I'm the No. 1 guy, like I do every week. If I happen to be that, then so be it. If not, I'll continue to do what I've been doing."

Hill would take over as the Bengals' primary running back. Cedric Peerman and Rex Burkhead likely would get carries alongside him.

"I feel good that if it happened that way that [Hill] would go in there and do the job," offensive coordinator Hue Jackson said about Hill possibly having a larger role.

Hill has just 50 carries this season, an average of 7.1 per game. He's rushed for 195 yards and has three touchdowns. Bernard has 446 yards on 109 carries. He also has five rushing scores.

Bernard suffered a hip injury in the fourth quarter of last week's 27-24 win against the Ravens. He left the game after a 4-yard first-down run. He went down rather abruptly before getting rolled over by his tackler from his belly to his back.

In addition to the hip injury, he also has been out this week with an injured clavicle. He hurt a shoulder at the end of an awkward tackle two weeks ago in the overtime tie with the Panthers. Seven days later, he hurt his ribs following a hard shot from Colts cornerback Vontae Davis on a screen pass.

Jackson said he didn't think Bernard's injuries were the result of putting a larger workload on his smaller frame.

"I know because of his size and whatnot people say that, but I don't believe that's the case," Jackson said. "The things where he was nicked up didn't come from taking too much. It just came from somebody tackling him and hitting him in the right spot."

Here is a look at the Bengals' complete Thursday injury report:

OUT

LB Vontaze Burfict (knee)

DID NOT PRACTICE

RB Giovani Bernard (hip/clavicle)

LB Rey Maualuga (hamstring)

DT Geno Atkins (veteran's day off)

CB Darqueze Dennard (hamstring)

OG Kevin Zeitler (calf)

LIMITED PRACTICE PARTICIPATION

DT Domata Peko (toe -- did not practice Wednesday)

WR A.J. Green (toe)