A.J. Green is set to miss his third straight game. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweets that the Bengals have listed their star wide receiver as doubtful for tomorrow’s game against the Browns.
Rapoport notes that Green believed that he might be able to play through his toe injury, but he was still kept out of practice all week. ESPN’s Josina Anderson echoes (via Twitter) that Green won’t end up playing tomorrow, but he’s aiming for a return next weekend against the Broncos. Anderson adds that Green tested the toe today and saw signs of improvement, and there’s optimism that he’ll soon return to the field.
The 30-year-old was having another productive season, as he hauled in 45 receptions for 687 yards and six touchdowns through eight games. While the Bengals have lost both of their games without Green, the team still has plenty of offensive depth. Tyler Boyd and John Ross will continue to lead the receiver corps, while running backs Giovani Bernard and Joe Mixon will also provide Andy Dalton with reliable targets.
Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com notes that the Bengals also downgraded cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick from questionable to doubtful for tomorrow’s game. The 29-year-old has been battling a shoulder injury throughout the week. Cincinnati will likely turn to some combination of Darqueze Dennard, Tony McRae, and Darius Phillips with Kirkpatrick out of the lineup.
Good for us.
Could be. The Browns last won back to back games a mere 1481 days ago with a 24-3 victory in Cincinnati.
“the team still has plenty of offensive depth.”
Offensive depth is worthless when your average time of possession is more than two minutes less than the 30th ranked team.