Updated: 7:10 p.m.
Wide receiver Armon Binns was claimed off waivers by the Dolphins on Monday, completing a wild ride as a member of the Bengals that saw him go from the practice squad to Opening Day starter and back to No. 6 receiver.
That's where he was Saturday when the Bengals opted to waive him to make room for center Kyle Cook in a move that was complicated by a calf injury to kicker Mike Nugent and a hamstring issue with tight end Jermaine Gresham. The Bengals also needed a spot for an extra kicker and on Saturday they weren't sure Gresham could go Sunday against the Cowboys and Binns was going to be inactive for the fourth time in five games.
The Bengals thought there was a chance they might need tight end Richard Quinn if Gresham couldn't go. But Gresham could go and played nearly every snap while Quinn was inactive like he has all year.
With the emergence of draft picks Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu, as well as Ryan Whalen, Binns couldn't hold on to his spot. But Dolphins defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle probably remembered the plays Binns made on the practice squad last year when Coyle was the Bengals secondary coach.
"Consistency," Binns said when asked what he learned about his Bengals experience. "I'm looking to get more consistent."
The Bengals were hoping to re-sign him once their kicker situation settled, but it's the second time a Bengals No, 85 has landed in Miami in the last four months and Binns hopes he'll last longer than Chad Johnson. He says he understood the Bengals wanted him back and why they made the move.
"I knew there was a chance just because of the kicker and everything else going on," Binns said. "I know (the Dolphins) are real thin at receiver so it's a chance for me to go out there and make an impact any way that I can, so I'm just ready to go to work.
"(The Bengals) were hoping everything worked out, but there's a chance this can happen."
COOK QUICK TURNAROUND: The Bengals wasted no time getting Cook into the lineup for the first time this season Sunday against the Cowboys and gave him the same amount of snaps as starter Trevor Robinson with 31.
Robinson, the rookie free agent from Notre Dame, made his sixth straight start but alternated every two series with Cook and the veteran ended up playing in the fourth quarter.
Cook, who had started 50 straight games for the Bengals before undergoing ankle surgery following an injury in the Aug. 23 preseason game against the Packers, was called for a hold on the first series in the fourth quarter that led to a punt. After practicing for the first time all week at full go, Cook was also called for a false start on his second series but on his first snap back drew nose tackle Rob Callaway offside in Callaway's first NFL game.
"I felt pretty good," Cook said. "The first time I got in there everybody else was warmed up but I got into it. It's a shame on that last drive we couldn't do what they did and got some first downs and kept grinding it out and not give them the ball back."
It was a curious last series. The Bengals had a 19-17 lead with 6:35 left and passed it on all five plays before they punted it back to the Cowboys after a possession of less than three minutes.
The Bengals have been grooming running back BenJarvus Green-Ellis for moments like that to milk the clock and he came into that drive with a 7.4-yard average on 12 carries against a Cowboys middle down to its third nose tackle and backup inside backers and a backup safety.
But with the Eagles looming in the Thursday night game (NFL Network-8:20 p.m.), there wasn't much time left for what-ifs.
"That might be a good thing. This one's gone, there's nothing you can do about it," Cook said. "Let's get back to work tomorrow and move forward. We're still in control of our destiny."
The Bengals do go right back to work with a light Monday evening practice before having a Friday-like practice on Tuesday morning. Then they'll have a walkthrough Wednesday morning before heading to Philadelphia in the afternoon.
The Monday night workout was more of a glorified walkthrough, so it was tough to tell who was out there since everybody was in gray sweats. WILL backer Vontaze Burfict, injured late in Sunday's game, appears to be ready and was in sweats before the practice and was listed as limited. Running back Cedric Peerman (ankle) was riding the bike on the side after missing Sunday's game. Cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick (concussion), who also missed Sunday's game, said he'd be in the walkthrough and see how the tests go before Tuesday's practice.
Kirkpatrick, who was listed as full go Monday, says it's the second concussion he's had but not as bad as the one he had at Alabama. Also working was left end Carlos Dunlap (calf) and middle linebacker Rey Maualuga (shoulder). Right end Michael Johnson (great toe) was dressed, too, but didn't practice. Same with kicker Mike Nugent (calf) and linebacker Dan Skuta (back).
The Eagles ruled out two starters Monday, tight end Brent Celek and defensive tackle Mike Patterson, and running back LeSean McCoy and quarterback Michael Vick were out of practice with concussions.
ROMO THEATRICS: Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo showed just how good he is on the two biggest throws of the day, the back-to-back bullets over the middle on third-and-10 from the Bengals 42 and then the touchdown to wide receiver Dez Bryant on first-and-10 from the 27.
Defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer pulled out all the stops on third down with a funky five-man rush that featured blitzes by defensive backs Chris Crocker and Nate Clements and Will backer Vontaze Burfict, and rushes by linemen Geno Atkins and Robert Geathers while Carlos Dunlap dropped into coverage. And Romo barely got rid of it in time as Clements came storming off the edge on the other side of the line that had been swinging to Dunlap.
On the next snap Zimmer kept mixing it up with a straight four-man rush with Dunlap and Michael Johnson on the edge and Wallace Gilberry and Geathers inside, and for one of the few times all day Dallas kept Romo clean in the pocket long enough for him to throw a strike to Bryant.
JAIL BREAK: Bengals cornerback Terence Newman stuck with the stripes theme Monday to sum up his defensive line.
"We've got these dudes up front that are like guys who have been locked down in prison for 30 years and get out," Newman said before practice. "They see the quarterback as some hot supermodel. That how's they come off the ball. 'Hey, she's mine.' I'm not saying the quarterback is a female. I'm just saying that's how they come off the ball."
