Bengals safety Bryan Cook back at practice after multi-week absence

The Bengals' secondary is getting a key piece back. Safety Bryan Cook returned to practice Monday for the first time in a few weeks, per the Cincinnati Enquirer's Kelsey Conway.

The nature of Cook's injury has stayed quiet — it was never disclosed by the team, and as Conway noted, Cincinnati isn't required to release injury specifics until the first official report of game week. What matters for the Bengals is the timing: their offseason addition at safety from Kansas City has been sidelined through much of August, and getting him on the field now gives him two weeks of work before the September 7 opener in Cleveland.

Cook's absence had left Cincinnati shorthanded in the back end throughout its joint practice with Chicago and preseason win over the Bears — Dax Hill has also missed time, leaving the safety and nickel group patchwork for much of camp. With Cook back, defensive coordinator Al Golden can finally run his projected starting alignment in full-team periods during the final week before cutdowns.