AP

Bengals defensive end Carlos Dunlap’s summer got off to a good start when he signed a contract extension with the team, but things took a bad turn when he suffered a concussion early in training camp.

Dunlap got back to work last week after an extended absence that some around the Bengals attributed to an abundance of caution about the defensive end’s health and he was a full participant again on Monday. Dunlap stressed the importance of this week’s work for getting him ready to make an impact against the Bears in the season opener on Sunday.

“This is real action. There is no blanks. You need to be ready and prepare like this is the season,” Dunlap said, via the Bengals website. “Preseason is over with you need to be on point. I missed the preseason so one of my things is get my conditioning up because those guys got the game reps I wasn’t able to get so I am getting my conditioning up, doing extra running as a team. The D-Line runs with me. We are all getting ready, we are getting ready for the Bears. That’s our main focus right now, the Bears.”

With Dunlap back in action alongside Geno Atkins, Michael Johnson and Domata Peko, the defensive line figures to be a major strength for the Bengals again this season and a stiff early test for Chicago’s rebuilt offensive line.