Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis addressed the media on Monday, saying reports of him leaving Cincinnati did not come from him. The Enquirer/Cara Owsley The Enquirer/Cara Owsley
Even in the controlled atmosphere of U.S. Bank Stadium in Minnesota, the black cloud that has hung over the Cincinnati Bengals offense opened up and dumped more cold water on it when starting tackles Cedric Ogbuehi and Andre Smith were injured.
Now, the final two games look to be in jeopardy for both.
Ogbuehi, who has been on the injury report several times this season with a shoulder problem, looked to have aggravated it on a failed fourth down attempt with 1 minute, 35 seconds left in the first quarter. He stayed in the game for the start of the next Bengals possession, which resulted in a sack of Andy Dalton. At that point, Ogbuehi walked off the field and didn’t return.
The extent of his injury is still be determined.
Drafted in the first round in 2015 while he was rehabbing a torn anterior cruciate ligament, the 25-year-old has also dealt with a toe injury and a sports hernia. Ogbuehi has played in 14 games each of the last two seasons and last year ended a game early with a rotator cuff injury.
Next year will the fourth and final year of Ogbuehi's rookie contract.
Smith was injured on the very last play the Bengals ran with 2:06 to go – a deep ball from backup quarterback AJ McCarron to Josh Malone that fell incomplete on fourth-and-five.
Smith's left leg was rolled up on from the side by right guard Alex Redmond while setting his block.
It is likely Smith will miss the final two games, though the injury is not expected to affect his ability to participate in any kind of offseason team activities. Smith signed a one-year deal before the start of the season to compete at the right guard position, but he eventually became a swing tackle until Jake Fisher was put the reserve/non-football injury list in early November.
With both tackles now injured, the Bengals are woefully thin on the offensive line with just six healthy players.
Backup center T.J. Johnson was put on injured reserve on Saturday after injuring a pectoral muscle and the only true backup tackle on the active roster is veteran Eric Winston.
If Ogbuehi and/or Smith are unable to play Sunday against Detroit, look for starting guards Trey Hopkins and Clint Boling to kick out to the open tackle spots. Backup guards Christian Westerman and Alex Redmond would then fill in alongside center Russell Bodine. Winston would then be the primary backup tackle in case of another in-game injury.
The only offensive lineman left on the practice is undrafted free agent Kent Perkins, who is a tackle. The team only has eight players on the practice squad after Denver signed away rookie center J. J. Dielman over the weekend.
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