As expected, center Kyle Cook became the first Bengal to make the injured reserve recall list Tuesday and the team filled his spot on the 53-man roster with veteran blocking tight end Richard Quinn.
Cook, who injured his ankle in the Aug. 23 preseason game against the Packers, can't practice for six weeks or play for eight weeks. He's eligible to practice as early as the week of the Oct. 21 game against Pittsburgh and play as soon as Nov. 4 against the Broncos at Paul Brown Stadium. In between the Bengals have their bye. But they don't have to activate him right away in Week 6. When they do activate him, the Bengals have three weeks to get him to the active roster.
The 6-4, 264-pound Quinn, who figures to be inactive for Monday's game against the Ravens (7 p.m.-Cincinnati's Channel 12 and ESPN), got cut by the Redskins last week after he caught one ball for nine yards in four preseason games. A second-round pick of the Broncos in 2009 out of North Carolina, he had four starts in 29 games before Denver released him in 2010 and the Redskins picked him up. He has one regular-season career catch for nine yards.
Offensive coordinator Jay Gruden indicated during the preseason that the Bengals wanted to see better blocking behind starting tight end Jermaine Gresham, their best blocker as well as their biggest threat in the passing game at tight end. They released the guy they were hoping to get that from, second-year man Colin Cochart, and he was claimed by Dallas.
DRE SALUTES CINCY: Dre Kirkpatrick's brief NFL career has been hounded by injuries, but his heart is certainly in the right place.
After donating backpacks over the weekend to a local elementary school, three billboards appeared looming over major highways signed by Kirkpatrick proclaiming, "Thank you Cincinnati."
Kirkpatrick, an Alabama cornerback who was Cincinnati's first pick in the last draft, has practiced sporadically with a variety of ailments and head coach Marvin Lewis said Monday he's out a couple of more weeks as he recovers from a bone spur near his knee.
Kirkpatrick appears on the billboard in a suit and an orange tie with his six-year-old son Dre Jr., wearing a Bengals tiger head sweatshirt.
"We call him 'The Little Man,' " Kirkpatrick said. "It's something I wanted to do to show my appreciation for the fans supporting me and the organization giving me the chance to help bring a Super Bowl here and I wanted to give something back to the community."
FIRST PITCH: The most prolific rookie battery in the history of the NFL planned to team up to throw out the first pitch at Tuesday night's Reds game against the Phillies when quarterback Andy Dalton and wide receiver A.J. Green, the first rookie duo with 3,000 passing yards and 1,000 receiving yards, respectively, got the call.
HARBS HAILS: Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, straight from the Cradle of Coaches at Miami University, who is putting up legendary numbers in his first four seasons as an NFL head coach, was in vintage game-week fashion as he heaped praise on individual Bengals in his Tuesday news conference.
But he wouldn't disclose if former Bengal Bobbie Williams or second-rounder Kelechi Osemele gets the start at right guard.
"Bobbie is another guy I used to make a point to go over and say 'hey' to and tell him how much we thought of him," Harbaugh said of past Bengals-Ravens matchups. "Bobbie is a special guy. It's good to have him on our side. Bobbie is just great to be around every single day."
Harbaugh said he's also made it a practice to give the same treatment to left tackle Andrew Whitworth after his battles with Pro Bowl sack ace Terrell Suggs.
"Every time we play them, I tell him, I go up after the game and say, 'You're a heck of a player,' every single time, because it's the truth," Harbaugh said. "He has just been one of the more dominant left tackles, and he is really underrated. Maybe he is starting to get his due now a little bit. He is a long, big, physical guy. He plays with a real nasty streak. He is tough to get around. He has perfect technique in everything he does. He is just a really good football player."
Harbaugh is no doubt thinking long and hard about that right guard because of the presence of one Geno Atkins, Pro Bowl defensive tackle.
"He is really tremendously athletic. He's really got quick feet. He is an explosive, quick, powerful guy," Harbaugh said. "He is a tough guy to reach. He gets on that outside edge of the guard and gets upfield. Sometimes when you move, and you kind of shift their defense a little bit, he'll play over the center and play as a nose guard and do a great job. He's a pass rusher. He had seven-and-a-half sacks last year. As an inside rusher, you don't see that very often. I think he led the league with that. "(He is a) really athletic guy."
