Zac Taylor keeps his cards close to the vest regarding status of injured Bengals player

Cincinnati Bengals edge defender Myles Murphy has a knee sprain that will sideline him for a few weeks.

Head coach Zac Taylor wasn't ready to make any decision with Murphy following Cincinnati's preseason finale Thursday evening.

"Right now we'll just take it week-to-week and see where we get closer to the season," Taylor said of Murphy after the game .

According to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, Murphy's injury will keep him out for " four-to-six weeks ." That would take him out of at least the first two regular season games, leaving Week 3's Monday Night Football matchup against the Washington Commanders as the first game he could return for.

Taylor and the Bengals may believe Murphy could return sooner than that, but "week-to-week" with Taylor typically means multiple weeks until returning. Fowler also mentioned the Bengals want to be "conservative" with Murphy, which could lead to them giving him more rest for reassurance.

The Bengals have options with Murphy. They could keep him on the active roster next week during roster cuts, or they could place him on the Reserve/Injured list at Tuesday's cutdown deadline and designate him to return after four weeks. That would be a smart way to be conservative with Murphy while also opening a roster spot for a healthy player.

Depth at Murphy's position is reaching critical status. Behind starters Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard are Murphy, Joseph Ossai, and rookie sixth-round pick Cedric Johnson as roster locks. An extra body is needed if Murphy is set to miss a few games.

But the Bengals don't have to make a decision on Murphy now, which explains Taylor's vague answer.

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