Bengals Notebook: Taylor Mays injures himself, 2 teammates

In two preseason games, starting safety Taylor Mays caused three injuries. Unfortunately for the Bengals, two were his teammates and the third was himself.

Mays was responsible for hitting MLB Rey Maualuga in the knee during the first quarter of the preseason opener against the Jets. The hit sidelined Maualuga for Thursday night's game against Atlanta. He had a front-row seat for Mays taking out another MLB, this time UFA Vontaze Burfict. Mays was headed in for a tackle, only instead of hitting the runner, came in high and went helmet-to-helmet with Burfict.

The third-year safety knocked himself out of the commission in the game against the Jets attempting to make a tackle that left him dazed.

Coach Marvin Lewis doesn't expect Mays to change the ferocity with which he plays. In fact, he points out the entire safety group has done a great job laying the hammer on players crossing the middle.

“Our guys in the back end are knocking the tail off of folks right now,” Lewis said. “It’s evident on tape and when balls are getting caught those guys are getting hit and that’s a good thing.”

Mays insinuated after Thursday's game he would meet with Lewis and defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer about how he can stop injuring himself and teammates at the point of attack. Lewis doesn't want Mays to change much, but an alteration in his line of sight at the point of impact would be the likely fix.

“He can keep working on in practice to make sure when he gets into the finish point of those plays that his head and eyes are staying up and so forth,” Lewis said. “That would be the only thing that I would say he can continue to work at that.”

Shipley cut reflects productive WR corps: The Bengals' decision to waive WR Jordan Shipley on Friday wasn't as much an indictment on Shipley, rather an endorsement of those surging ahead of him on the depth chart.

Andrew Hawkins has emerged as the go-to guy in the slot and offensive coordinator Jay Gruden said he owns more versatility with players able to line up inside and outside than last season. All of those factors led to the Bengals cutting ties with leading rookie receiver in the AFC in 2010.

“Obviously with letting him go we feel good about the guys we have in there,” Gruden said. “With a lot of people's flexibility now it didn't leave a lot of room for Ship right now.”

The reason for dropping the receiver now as opposed to in two weeks at final cut was to allow the WR a shot to sign with another team.

“That's the big thing,” Gruden said. “Try to get him somewhere where he can learn a system before the opening game. It's been the right way to go. He's been nothing but a true professional since I've know him. You hate to lose a guy like that because he's such a role model for the younger players. He's a young player himself; I know the fans all like him, but right now we have a lot of good players at that position and something had to be done.”

Lewis again unhappy with replacement refs: Following the win against the Jets in the first week of the preseason, Lewis took a dig at the replacement officials,  pointing out a missed call on a punt “wasn't a hard one to get right,” while bemoaning his desire for such errors to be corrected by Week 1.

He didn't hold back taking veiled shots again in Friday's press conference. While discussing two penalties called that extended the Falcons' drive in the Bengals' win, he called them both “phantom calls,” but didn't stop there.

“We’ve got to look at those things and make sure we’re being critical of it,” Lewis said of the calls. “After watching it, I don’t know what we’d do differently.”

Patience takes precedence with corners: Adam Jones (groin) and Jason Allen (hamstring) won't return to their spots on the corner immediately. The two missed the preseason game against the Falcons. Lewis thought they would be able to return after being held out of Week 1 against the Giants" data-canon="New York Jets" data-type="SPORTS_OBJECT_TEAM" id="shortcode0">, but attempts to return too fast produced setbacks.

Lewis said he'll be extra careful in how soon he allows the them to play the final two weeks.

He expects both to gradually begin working on the side as they return to shape, but there is no certainty they will play another snap this preseason.

DT Pat Sims to PUP?: DT Pat Sims looked to be on the outside looking in at the final spot in the defensive tackle rotation as he came in out of shape and rehabbing an ankle injury. The injury has lingered and though Lewis said he's “getting closer,” the thought of holding Sims out of practice and placing him on the PUP instead of cutting him could be the plan of attack.

The 6-foot-2, 335-pound Sims has started 23 games for the Bengals in four seasons. Until he participates in a practice, Sims will still be eligible for the list that holds him out the first six weeks of the regular season.

“It's just a thing where you want to make sure a guy can withstand the rigors of practice and playing in a game before you take him off that list,” Lewis said. “We've only got two weeks to go. We've got to make a major decision on whether or not to do that. So they have to prove to us that they're ready.”

Follow Paul Dehner Jr. for Bengals updates on Twitter at @CBSSportsNFLCIN.