The Cincinnati Bengals will lose an offensive weapon following an injury at Thursday’s joint practice with the Chicago Bears. The practice can be described as anything but good for the Bengals.
The Cincinnati Bengals had a rough practice
The Bengals’ starting quarterback, Joe Burrow, struggled against a Bears’ starting defense, which has dominated rookie quarterback Caleb Williams in training camp so far. Burrow threw three interceptions during Thursday’s practice.
He won’t play in the preseason game against the Bears on Saturday, as the Bengals will rest their starters.
Two players were carted off the wet grass
Worse than Burrow’s performance, the Bengals suffered two injuries on Thursday. As previously discussed on GH, running back Chris Evans and offensive tackle D’ante Smith were carted off the field at the practice. The Bengals and Bears chose to take a risk by practicing in wet elements at the joint practice:
Despite weather reports that Thursday in Chicago would make for a wet, potentially unsafe practice field, the Bengals and the Bears decided to have practice outside.
The Bears have an indoor practice facility, Halas Hall, but it was not put into use for the joint practice with the Bengals. It is unclear as to whether this decision came from the Bears organization or a joint decision between the two staffs.
The decision cost the Bengals Evans for the rest of the season.
Chris Evans is out for the 2024 season
According to Jordan Schultz, Evans suffered a torn patellar tendon. The injury takes about nine months to heal fully. Evans reportedly was having a solid training camp before the injury.
Per Schultz, Evans was a favorite in the locker room.
The Bengals selected Evans in the sixth round of the 2021 NFL Draft. He’s appeared in 34 games.
Evans was on the roster bubble on the depth chart. Per Paul Dehner Jr. with The Athletic, the Bengals are expected to keep three running backs on their 53-man roster. Zack Moss, Chase Brown, and Trayveon Williams were ahead of Evans.
However, Evans could have provided essential depth on the practice squad at a frequently injured position in the regular season.
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