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"Was A.J. Green your guess? If so, that guess would be wrong. ..."

The most targeted pass-catcher for the Bengals entering today's meeting with Carolina is Mohamed Sanu, who has suddenly shot up the ranks from little-used understudy to the top receiver spot on the team.

With 26 targets, Sanu leads all Bengals pass-catchers in balls thrown his way. Green is next, with 24.

Those numbers will go up for Sanu this weekend when he gets Green's WR1 duties after sources confirmed to ESPN's Bob Holtzman that the Pro Bowler won't be playing. Green aggravated an injury to his right big toe on Wednesday. On Thursday after he saw an area foot specialist for further evaluation of a foot injury that coach Marvin Lewis called "a little more than" turf toe.

Friday morning, Green was seen at the Bengals' walkthrough wearing a black walking boot.

So while he's officially listed as questionable, nobody expects Green to play.

The loss of Green will be a big blow to a receiving corps that already was reeling from injuries to Marvin Jones, who was officially ruled out Saturday, and Tyler Eifert. With all of those key weapons out, the Bengals must once again employ the "next man up" philosophy often brought up by coaches and players.

"It's football, man," Sanu said earlier this week. "When one guy falls down, you've got to step up and fill the void."

This week, and for possibly others to come, Sanu will be the one charged with filling the void left by Green.

But he won't be going it alone. Other playmakers such as Brandon Tate, Dane Sanzenbacher, James Wright, Giovani Bernard, Jeremy Hill and Ryan Hewitt will become even bigger options in the passing game now, too.

Again, there are reasons to believe Sanu will be able to fill in for Green.

In addition to having more targets than Green, Sanu also has the same number of receptions (17) as him, an the same number of touchdowns (2). When Green left the Bengals' Week 2 win over the Falcons after just six plays, Sanu contributed by catching three passes for 84 yards, including a 76-yard touchdown reception.

In that game and others, Sanu also showcased a measure of versatility that could make him a threat to run or pass, too.

He has completed two passes this season, including an 18-yard touchdown pass to Andy Dalton. Since the Bengals trailed all of last week's game at New England, they didn't have much of a chance to get into their trick-play offense. It's possible that portion of their playbook will show up this weekend if they command the game early.

As Harvey summed up: "Much like Bernard, Sanu should get his share of playmaking opportunities this week. With Green sitting, keep Sanu in mind."