Bengals rookie standout makes an upcoming decision significantly easier following roster move
There haven't been many positives for the Cincinnati Bengals this season, but rookie punter Ryan Rehkow has absolutely been one of them. He leads the NFL in yards per punt (58.4) and average net yards per punt (49.7).Rehkow is far from the Bengals' worries at the moment, but he now has company with Brad Robbins now […]
There haven't been many positives for the Cincinnati Bengals this season, but rookie punter Ryan Rehkow has absolutely been one of them. He leads the NFL in yards per punt (58.4) and average net yards per punt (49.7).
Rehkow is far from the Bengals' worries at the moment, but he now has company with Brad Robbins now activated off the Reserve/Injured list.
Robbins was one of three players on I.R. who are eligible to return for this week along with rookie defensive tackle McKinnley Jackson and edge defender Myles Murphy. The team specifically designated Murphy and Robbins to return during roster cuts, so Robbins being activated was an inevitability. He now holds the roster spot that was opened up by Trent Brown going to I.R. over the weekend.
Two punters on a 53-man roster is far from a common practice in the middle of the regular season, and the Bengals won't operate like this for long. Unfortunately for Robbins, he comes back at the worst possible time.
Ryan Rehkow has already won the Bengals' punting battle
There's no other punter in the NFL doing what Rehkow is doing right now. His net average yards per punt is higher than 22 other punter's gross average yards per punt. Couple that with his ninth-ranked average hang time of 4.53 seconds, and he's given the Bengals everything they lacked last year when Robbins was the guy.
When the Bengals designated Robbins to return, they had no way of knowing Rehkow would be *this* good. Had Rehkow not solidified himself as the best option going forward in the last four weeks, there would be value in having Robbins compete for the job. Head coach Zac Taylor said it all without saying much of anything.
"I think there's some roster moves we'll have to make this week," Taylor told reporters Monday afternoon. "And that's part of it."
It wasn't a given that Rehkow would've beaten Robbins had they each played a full preseason. Rehkow happened to stay healthy and get better with reps. It's worked out splendidly for him and the team.
The Bengals should have an easy decision ahead of them, and that means Robbins' days in Cincinnati are numbered barring something unexpected. In all likelihood, he'll be waived in order for Jackson or Murphy to return this week.
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