Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis missed practice on Tuesday due to what the club deemed a “minor” health issue that the coach is taking care of.

Lewis was at Paul Brown Stadium on Tuesday and joked he wouldn’t be on the injury report and had planned to attend practice up until it began. He had gotten to the field when Bengals staff told him to head back inside Paul Brown Stadium.

"I just hope Marvin's health gets back to normal and we can get him back out here quickly," quarterback Andy Dalton said.

Lewis had been favoring a leg following practice on Monday.

Special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons assumed head coaching responsibilities on Tuesday and will remain in that role as long as necessary, though Lewis may be back on the field as soon as Wednesday.

"Not sure if he has (missed a practice)," Simmons said. "I’ve been here a long time. That’s a lot of practices. He might have. Might be when he had his ankle surgery. He missed a day. Spent a couple weeks in the press box. He may have missed one day, but he’s a tough guy, he’s a resilient guy. He’ll be back when it’s safe and he can be back. But most importantly he needs to take care of himself right now."

As far as Simmons being the one tabbed to steer the ship, it makes sense

Before training camp began, Lewis heaped praise on his longtime assistant’s ability to connect with the team.

“A guy that we have that gets overlooked is Darrin Simmons, who does a tremendous job,” Lewis told The Enquirer in late July. “And he has to do it with new people year in and year out, and he does a great job of doing that, of blending the older guys and more experienced guys together.”

It also made sense for Simmons to assume the role from a logistical standpoint.

"I think that's the obvious thing," he said. "We've got a good guy in place, Brayden (Coombs), if it comes to that, that he can handle it and it will cause the least disruption on offense and defense. Paully (Guenther) can still control the defense, Kenny (Zampese) can still control the offense. Least disruption. No waves."

Lewis brought Simmons to Cincinnati in 2003 and is in his fifth season as the special teams coordinator. His relationship with Lewis dates back to 1998 when he was hired in Baltimore and Lewis was the Ravens’ defensive coordinator.

"It's different just because Marvin's always been here," Dalton said. "I thought the way that practice flowed, nobody really blinked and we just kind of went through and did things the way that we do. I think we've got a lot of great coaches on the staff to do that. We've got Darrin filling in right now with some of the stuff that he's got going. I thought the flow was good."

The Bengals will host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their preseason opener on Friday night at Paul Brown Stadium.

"For Darrin, he understands all the stuff that goes on with that," Dalton said when asked if Simmons had to maintain this role through the game. "I think he's great situationally, the stuff the head coach normally controls in the game. I'm not worried about any of that kind of stuff. It is good that it is the preseason, because if something were to happen -- obviously you don't want it to happen -- you kind of get prepared for if something were to happen."

The team is off and closed to the media on Thursday, like most days before a game.

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