Bengals have a clear waiver wire goal to achieve following update on Myles Murphy's injury
The Cincinnati Bengals avoided the worst in regards to second-year edge defender Myles Murphy, but it's still not great news. Per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, Murphy suffered a knee sprain during the team's final training camp practice on Tuesday and will be out for "four-to-six weeks." Four weeks from now is right before the Bengals take […]
The Cincinnati Bengals avoided the worst in regards to second-year edge defender Myles Murphy, but it's still not great news.
Per ESPN's Jeremy Fowler, Murphy suffered a knee sprain during the team's final training camp practice on Tuesday and will be out for "four-to-six weeks."
Four weeks from now is right before the Bengals take on the Washington Commanders in Week 3. Six weeks from now leads up to their Week 5 matchup against the Baltimore Ravens.
Fowler reported that the Bengals don't want to rush Murphy back so quickly, so the safe assumption is he'll return closer to Week 5 than Week 3.
Playing the first quarter of the season without Murphy isn't ideal for the Bengals, and it's the latest unfortunate development they've incurred at the edge position. Cam Sample is out for the year, and Jeff Gunter retired suddenly during training camp.
It's become clear what the Bengals should do next week after crafting the initial 53-man roster.
Bengals need to scour the waiver wire for an edge defender
The Bengals have extremely minimal depth remaining on the edge. Starters Trey Hendrickson and Sam Hubbard are now backed by Joseph Ossai and rookie sixth-round pick Cedric Johnson.
If the Bengals decide to place Murphy on the Reserve/Injured list and designate him to return, there isn't a fifth edge worthy of a roster spot currently on the team. Five is typically how many the club rolls with during the season.
If the answer isn't on the team, it could be on another team right now.
The roster cutdown deadline is Tuesday, August 27 at 4pm ET. Hundreds of players from around the league will be waived or straight up released depending on how many seasons they've accrued. If a player hasn't accrued four seasons and is cut, he is subject to waivers and the 31 other teams have until noon the following day to place a claim for him.
The Bengals are 18th in the waiver priority order, and honestly, any claim they make should be for an edge defender. They went this route three years ago when they claimed Wyatt Ray (along with cornerback Nick McCloud). Ray ended up playing 16 games (including postseason) for Cincinnati that season.
Claiming an edge defender this year may not result in keeping him for the entire season, but they need another body at the position to start the year without Murphy.
Bengals Roster Breakdown: Cedric Johnson may force Cincinnati to think about the long game on the edge
Johnson joins a deep group at edge defender in Cincinnati, but will he stay with the team through final cuts?
