Bengals WR John Ross approached the team about a trade recently.

Related players: Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd

Ross, in the last year of his rookie deal, hasn't been playing much of late and wants a fresh start if that's going to continue being the case. He was inactive for three weeks and played just one snap this past week. Garafolo said talks haven't gone far. Ross is buried a bit on the depth chart thanks to Boyd and perhaps especially Higgins who is emerging this year. There are two weeks until the trade deadline.

A.J. Green reaggravated his left hamstring during the team’s loss to Baltimore. The wideout originally suffered the hamstring injury during training camp.

Related players: Tyler Boyd, Tee Higgins, Auden Tate

HC Zac Taylor said on Monday that he’s unsure about Green’s playing status this week. Green didn’t have a reception in Sunday’s loss. Boyd and Higgins would likely be the top two targets for Joe Burrow if Green misses time. Tate could also see more snaps.

Bengals QB Joe Burrow has established chemistry with WR Tyler Boyd, according to Mitch Stacy of the Associated Press. Stacy also mentioned the developing chemistry between Burrow and rookie WR Tee Higgins and the slow start for WR A.J. Green.

Burrow has looked like a rookie QB at times, but the connection he has with Tyler Boyd is impossible to miss. The two connected for 10 catches on 13 targets in Week 3, and Boyd has 18 catches over the past two games. Boyd is the WR1 in Cincinnati and will continue to be peppered with targets.

In all, the Bengals wheeled out seven plays with five receivers Sunday.

You know how many times they did this all last year? Zero.

You know how many times the rest of the league did this Sunday? One play by the Bills.

Related players: A.J. Green, Tyler Boyd, Tee Higgins, John Ross, Mike Thomas, Auden Tate, Alex Erickson, Joe Mixon, Joe Burrow

The concept became a staple of his record-breaking season at LSU as his new offensive coordinator Joe Brady shifted from traditional six- and seven-man protections to the five-man protections with everyone out in the route to spread the field. The story added the Bengals ran more plays in five receivers than every team except Pittsburgh has over the last two full seasons. The entire league only ran five wide receivers for 25 total plays last season. The Steelers (17) led the way, Jaguars (four) were next and no other team had more than one. HC Zac Taylor said he wants to get the above WRs on the field because he feels there is a lot of talent there. But it also means pulling guys like Joe Mixon off the field at the same time.

Richard Skinner of WKRC in Cincinnati picked WR John Ross as the Bengals breakout offensive player. Skinner bases his choice on the return of A.J. Green to pair with Tyler Boyd, forcing defenses to shift their focus away from Ross. Skinner also talked to A.J. Green about Ross. "He’s unbelievable, siad Green. "He’s one of the fastest people I’ve ever seen, and the way he gets in and out of his breaks is unbelievable. He’s had a great camp outside of getting injured, and I’m very excited for him. He’s going to help our offense out so much."

An effective Ross also bodes well for rookie QB Joe Burrow. Ross has dealt with a myriad of injuries in Cincinnati, but showed promise in the first few weeks of 2019 before said injuries forced him to miss eight games. Until the Bengals offense shows it can support Green, Boyd, and RB Joe Mixon, it will be tough to see Ross as anything other than a waiver wire watch early this season.

Joe Burrow on Tyler Boyd: TB is going to have a big season. I have a great connection with him right now.

Boyd finished with 90-1,046-5 on 148 targets in 2019, resulting in a No. 23 finish. Andy Dalton only played 13 games, and in those games, Boyd played at a 96-1,086-5.0 pace, which represent solid WR2 numbers. In 2018, he finished with 76-1,028-7 on 108 targets finishing No. 17. A.J. Green is theoretically back this season and Boyd’s 2018 splits with Green (6.1-80-0.56 on 8.2 targets per game) are encouraging, though much has changed in Cincinnati since 2018. The Bengals have a new offense and a new quarterback. Boyd is going off the board as a midrange WR3 and that seems about right.

John Ross was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list when he left the team earlier this month in order to help care for his son and his son’s mother after they tested positive for the coronavirus. The Bengals announced on Sunday that Ross has been activated from the list.

Related players: A.J. Green, Tyler Boyd

Ross will look to be the speed threat in the Bengal offense behind Green and Boyd, but he's not seeing a lot of action in typical draft formats.

Can confirm Bengals WR Auden Tate sprained the MCL in his left knee. Initial MRI showed no structural damage.

Related players: Tyler Boyd, John Ross, Alex Erickson

Tate's status for the remainder of the season is now a big question. The Bengals will continue to play with Boyd, Ross and Erickson as Tate's likely replacement.

Zac Taylor says he won’t rule out A.J. Green playing this week.

Related players: Tyler Boyd, Auden Tate

While it potentially seems like good news, Taylor went on to say he wants to see Green practice fully before playing him. There was a report out Sunday that Green wouldn't play until after the NFL trade deadline. Boyd and Tate will continue to see big workloads.