CINCINNATI – Cincinnati Bengals starting left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. will return to the field for the first time in weeks.

Brown, who has missed the last three games and six of the last seven with a right leg injury, is expected to play Saturday against the Denver Broncos.

For Cincinnati to make the playoffs, the Bengals (7-8) will need to win their last two games and also get help from other teams, including Denver (9-6), which has lost its last two games.

The stakes are one of the reasons Brown is eager to play this weekend.

“Obviously it’s been a long season,” Brown told ESPN after practice on Thursday. “But as a team we have a lot at stake. I’m just excited to go out there and be a part of it.”

At the start of the season, the four-time Pro Bowl player was probably playing the best football of his career. Through the first seven weeks of the season, he led all players in pass block win rate as a tackle (ESPN stats provided by Next Gen Stats).

In Week 7, he suffered a lower leg injury that kept him out of the team’s win against the Cleveland Browns. He started the following week in a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, but was unable to finish the game. He missed the next three contests and played against the Pittsburgh Steelers before being sidelined for the next three games. He had previously missed just one game in each of the previous six seasons.

Initially it was an injury to the right knee, said Brown. However, a later diagnosis revealed that it was a much more serious injury to the fibula, but one that did not require surgery.

“Obviously the injury is still there,” Brown said. “It’s going to be like that for the rest of the season, but man, we fought hard to get to this point.”

Brown isn’t the only key Bengals lineman dealing with an issue. Right tackle Amarius Mims is expected to play despite a broken hand.

Mims told ESPN that he suffered the injury last weekend in a win over the Browns. It is unclear when this occurred as he only realized the extent of the injury after the game.

At Thursday’s practice, Mims carried a bat during the portion of practice open to the media. Taylor said he believes Mims can still be effective given the injury.

“We’re counting on him,” Taylor said. “It’s a key game and he’s been a good player for us.”