Could this be a week that Jalen Tolbert is active and part of the receiver rotation to help the offense get going? How did you guys think he played in the preseason and why do you think he was inactive against Tampa? — JOE ROGERS / HOUSTON, TX
Patrik: I'm on record as saying, in the grand scheme of what his NFL career might become, the sky would not fall if Tolbert wasn't active in the regular season opener. I don't know that he would've been able to change what we saw against the Bucs but, given just how out of sorts and unproductive the WR unit as a whole was in Week 1, you have to put the rookie third-round pick in against the Bengals to see what he can do in conjunction with Cooper Rush – the two having done work together in camp as well. I mean, let's be honest, the only way to go from here is up anyway, so let Tolbert try to contribute to that in against Cincinnati.
Nick: Here's where I stand with this and it's going to probably sound hypocritical. But I was actually pleasantly surprised they sat Tolbert in Week 1, not giving into the fact that he's a third-round pick. So they played the best players. Now, after what I saw Sunday night, I would definitely play Tolbert … because he's a third-round pick. Yeah everything changed after we saw just how bad it was and how bad it's probably going to get. At this point, Tolbert needs reps and I don't see anyone on this roster that just has to get snaps ahead of him. Guys like Fehoko and Houston were probably ahead of him on special teams, but I'd be really surprised if Tolbert wasn't active against the Bengals.
