The Bengals officially placed rookie defensive end Cashius Howell on injured reserve, confirming he’ll be out for at least four games after undergoing wrist surgery on Monday. This is a tough blow for Cincinnati, losing a promising second-round pick from their defensive front for a significant chunk of the season.
Rookie Season Hits a Sudden Wall for Howell
Head coach Zac Taylor initially held back on giving a specific timeline for Howell’s return, but the move to injured reserve makes things clear: the young DE is sidelined. Howell was just getting started in his rookie campaign, playing in the Bengals’ first seven games and eating up around 40 percent of the defensive snaps. He had already notched six tackles, two tackles for loss, a sack, and five quarterback hits. Those aren’t MVP numbers, sure, but for a second-round rookie contributing that much early on, it shows he was making an impact. To have that momentum cut short by a wrist injury, especially after showing that early flash, is just brutal.
Cincinnati’s Defensive End Depth Gets Tested
With Howell out, the Bengals now have a hole to fill, and they haven’t made a move to bring in another player to replace him on the active roster just yet. This means the pressure is squarely on the shoulders of their other defensive ends: Myles Murphy, Boye Mafe, Cedric Johnson, and Shemar Stewart. They’re going to need to step up big time to cover the snaps and production Howell was providing. Losing a second-round talent when he’s already contributing at 40 percent of snaps is never easy, and it’s a real test for the rest of that unit to maintain their pass rush and run defense without him.
This situation leaves the Bengals relying on their existing depth to navigate at least the next four games without a key young player who was starting to find his rhythm.
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Originally reported by Pro Football Talk.
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