Cowboys Sign CB C.J. Goodwin
The Cowboys are signing cornerback C.J. Goodwin off of the Bengals’ practice squad, a source tells ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (on Twitter). The well-traveled 28-year-old will give the Cowboys another option in the secondary as Chidobe Awuzie recovers from an ankle injury. 
Goodwin spent the offseason with the Bengals, but was unable to make the final cut on Labor Day Weekend. He’s been biding his time on the practice squad ever since, and he’ll finally get a chance to see live action in Dallas. Goodwin has appeared in 28 career games, most of them coming between 2016 and 2017 with the Falcons.
For now, Goodwin will serve as the club’s fifth cornerback behind Byron Jones, Jourdan Lewis, Awuzie, and Anthony Brown. If Awuzie can’t go on Sunday, he may get a spot on the active roster for the afternoon tilt against the Jaguars.
Bengals Place Tyler Eifert On IR
Vontaze Burfict is back. On Friday, the Bengals activated the linebacker and formally placed tight end Tyler Eifert on injured reserve. 
Burfict was suspended for the first four weeks of the season thanks to a PED suspension. He’s no stranger to bans, having drawn multiple punishments from the league office for violating safety rules, but this was his first for banned performance enhancers. Over the last five years, he’s missed 32 regular season games thanks to injuries and suspensions. Despite it all, Burfict remains one of the very best linebackers in the NFL. In 2017, Burfict managed 69 tackles and 1.5 sacks in ten games.
Eifert has also missed a boatload of time over the last five years, playing in just 28 regular season games out of a possible 80. His latest injury, a broken ankle, will rule him out for the remainder of the year.
It’s yet another tough blow for Eifert, who is one of the league’s most talented tight ends. Before he exited the Bengals’ game against the Falcons, Eifert was displaying some of his old form and had four catches for 38 yards and a touchdown. Through four games, the former first-rounder had 15 grabs for 179 yards in total.
The oft-injured Eifert re-signed with the Bengals this offseason on a one-year, $5.5MM deal. When he hits free agency in March, he’ll likely be looking at yet another one-year platform deal, perhaps with less in base compensation.
Bengals RB Giovani Bernard To Miss Time
Running back Giovani Bernard did an admirable job of holding down the fort while Joe Mixon missed two weeks of action. Unfortunately, Bernard is now dealing with an injury of his own. The veteran will be out for 2-4 weeks with an MCL sprain, a source tells Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter). 
At minimum, Bernard will be sidelined for Sunday’s game against the Dolphins and the following week’s contest against the rival Steelers. Beyond that, Bernard is in jeopardy of missing games against the Chiefs and Bucs. The good news is that the Bengals have a Week 9 bye, so he’ll have some extra time to rest his knee in early November.
In the past two games, Bernard has scored three touchdowns while averaging 4.8 yards per carry. His presence will be missed, but the Bengals’ rushing attack should be just fine if Mixon can resume his usual workload on Sunday.
Without Bernard, Mark Walton will assume the No. 2 RB role. The recently signed Thomas Rawls is also on hand as a depth option.
Billy Price Out At Least Two More Weeks
- Rookie Bengals center Billy Price hasn’t suffered any setbacks since suffering a foot injury in Week 2, but he’s still expected to be in a walking boot for at least two more weeks, tweets Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. That means Price will miss games against the Dolphins and Steelers, and possibly more if his recovery timeline is extended. Cincinnati’s bye comes in Week 9, so the Bengals could potentially hold Price out through then if they want to be cautious. With Price out, the Bengals have turned to former starting guard Trey Hopkins to fill in at the pivot.
NFL Workout Updates: 10/1/18
Today’s tryouts:
Buffalo Bills
Cincinnati Bengals
Chicago Bears
- OL Willie Beavers, Will Holden, Marcus Oliver, Menelik Watson
Green Bay Packers
- DEs Joey Mbu, Kendall Reyes
Houston Texans
New York Jets
- DEs Jared Crick, Anthony Lanier; G Jamil Douglas; FB Jalston Fowler; CB Sterling Moore; WRs Brandon Reilly, DeAngelo Yancey
Philadelphia Eagles
- S Robert Golden, Charlie Miller; LBs Dewey McDonald, Hayes Pullard
Ingram, Edelman To Return In Week 5
As we approach Week 5 of the NFL season, several NFL players are returning from four-game bans. As noted by Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter), that list includes notables such as Saints running back Mark Ingram, Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman, Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict, Cowboys defensive tackle David Irving, Chargers defensive tackle Corey Liuget, Colts running back Robert Turbin, Raiders cornerback Daryl Worley, Ravens cornerback Jimmy Smith. 
Players do not count against a team’s roster max while suspended, so clubs will have to make room for these players before adding them for Week 5. There will be some tough decisions to make, but the upside is clear in most of these cases, particularly when it comes to offensive weapons like Ingram and Edelman or defensive pillars like Burfict and Irving.
Alvin Kamara should remain the focal point of the Saints’ running game, but the return of Ingram will give opposing defenses something else to think about. And, as we saw in the first three weeks of the Patriots’ season, Edelman has been sorely missed.
Bengals TE Tyler Eifert Carted Off Field
UPDATE: Eifert suffered a broken ankle and will undergo surgery, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN (Twitter link). It will end the tight end’s season.
Tyler Eifert‘s hopes for a comeback season took a major hit on Sunday afternoon. The Bengals tight end suffered a lower right leg injury during today’s game against the Falcons. D. Orlando Ledbetter of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution described the injury as “horrific” while NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport tweeted that it was “gruesome.”
The tight end had hauled in four catches for 38 yards and a touchdown up to that point, and he was injured following a tackle by Falcons linebacker De’Vondre Campbell. Eifert was ultimately carted off the field with his right ankle in an aircast. Dr. David J. Chao (otherwise known as the Pro Football Doc) tweets that the injury is a definite season-ender, and it will require surgery. However, Chao cautions that the injury can’t be attributed to Eifert’s continuous injury issues, and he doesn’t believe it will end the 28-year-old’s career.
It’s a tough blow for Eifert, who has continually battled injury problems throughout his career. Since the beginning of the 2014 season, the tight end has missed 40 total regular season games, and he’s struggled through back, ankle, and elbow ailments. The former first-rounder had appeared in the Bengals’ first three games this season, hauling in 11 receptions for 141 yards. His best season came back in 2015, when he caught 13 touchdowns in 13 games.
Assuming Eifert is out for the foreseeable future, the Bengals will be forced to lean on their other tight ends. C.J. Uzomah will continue to sit atop the depth chart, and the team could also turn to Tyler Kroft and Mason Schreck.
Minor NFL Transactions: 9/28/18
Here are Friday’s minor moves:
Cincinnati Bengals
- Released from IR: RB Tra Carson
Indianapolis Colts
- Promoted from practice squad: TE Mo Alie-Cox, RB Jeremy McNichols, DE Carroll Phillips
- Waived: LB Skai Moore, TE Erik Swoope
New Orleans Saints
- Waived: RB Jonathan Williams
Tennessee Titans
- Promoted from practice squad: DT Darius Kilgo
Bengals Sign DL Adolphus Washington
The Bengals have signed defensive lineman Adolphus Washington from the Cowboys’ practice squad, as Mike Florio of PFT tweets. Washington was a third-round pick of the Bills in 2016, but has yet to do much at the pro level and missed the team’s final cut this year.
The Bills reportedly tried trading Washington last season, but found no takers. That’s no surprise given that he has failed to perform and was arrested last summer on weapons charges.
In two-plus years with the team, Washington started 21 games for the Bills and racked up 56 tackles, 3.5 sacks, and three passes defended while being used primarily as a run-stuffer. With the Bengals, he’ll try to fill the void after Ryan Glasgow was lost to a season-ending knee injury.
Bengals’ Ryan Glasgow Done For Season
The season is over for Bengals defensive tackle Ryan Glasgow. Glasgow, who was carted off the field yesterday, has been diagnosed with a season-ending knee injury, sources tell Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). 
The Bengals feared the worst after Glasgow left the stadium in crutches. A Monday morning MRI confirmed the bad news.
Glasgow, a fourth-round pick in the 2017 draft, appeared in all 16 games last season, mostly as a reserve. This year, he tallied eleven tackles off of the bench through two games and change.
Although he was not a starter, the injury is a definite blow to the Bengals’ defensive line depth. After placing Glasgow on IR, it’s likely that the Bengals will either promote defensive tackle Andrew Brown from the practice squad or make an outside signing.
The Bengals dropped to 2-1 after losing to the Panthers 31-21 on Sunday. This week, they’ll take on the Falcons in Atlanta.