Lost in the chaos of a Ja’Marr Chase locker room speech propelling the Cincinnati Bengals to a shocking comeback win over the Baltimore Ravens was another chomp from the injury bug.
The Bengals entered the win over the Ravens fresh off a bye, but two positions with injury problems early this year took hits again.
At tight end, Erick All went down with an injury and left for the locker room. At safety, Kyle Dugger suffered a quad injury and was ruled out, while Bryan Cook suffered another setback, although returned later.
These issues make the approaching deadline seem all the more important for the Bengals.
As of this writing, there’s still an outside chance that All can make it back this year. But his serious injury history, paired with the fact
Tanner Hudson is already on injured reserve, makes the spot feel flimsy. With Drew Sample a blocker, Mike Gesicki more of a big wideout and only rookie Jack Endries on the 53, hitting the trade market could make some sense.
Similar story at safety. Cook has had multiple setbacks this year and Dugger can’t stay on the field despite perhaps deserving more snaps than the often-struggling Jordan Battle. PJ Jules and Russ Yeast aren’t starter-level players right now.
With tight end, it’s about addressing a pretty obvious depth problem. With safety, it’s pointing a finger at one of the two weakest spots on the defense that couldn’t afford injuries in the first place.
The Bengals don’t need to hit the trade deadline in search of a blockbuster, but it’s clear which two areas hit by injuries should probably be on their mind.
This article originally appeared on Bengals Wire: Bengals injuries pile up, almost demand action at trade deadline
