The Bengals had a down year–not bad–just down because a lot of injuries plagued their season.
The Cincinnati Bengals’ season did not end as expected.
One of the main things was Joe Burrows’s injuries. He had a calf strain at the beginning of the season, which impacted him heavily. Later in the season, once he was healthy, he suffered a season-ending injury and tore a ligament in his right wrist.
Burrow would not return for the rest of the season.
“The franchise quarterback is set for wrist surgery on Monday, sources say, with the expectation that Burrow will make a full recovery for the 2024 season. Head coach Zac Taylor clarified to reporters on November 20 that Burrow’s 2023 season is over, regardless of how far the Bengals potentially advance in the playoffs,” says NFL.
Another reason that the Bengals didn’t succeed this season is they lost a key piece of their defense. Later in the season, DJ Reader suffered a torn right quad tendon. He was one of the main parts of the defense line.
Reader was a key part of the team and will be missed on and off the field.
“There’s nobody going to replace DJ [on the field]. That’s just who DJ is, but we have full faith in the guys behind him that they can step up and do a good job,” says Zac Taylor.
In the offseason, the Bengals lost Jessie Bates, who was a big part of their defense. The Bengals let him go to free agency, which left their defensive secondary young and inexperienced.
As this is not a surprise, it’s still a tough loss for the Bengals and has impacted them heavily.
“Bates’s move down south doesn’t come as a surprise to those in Cincinnati, who expected Bates to depart after the Bengals tagged him in 2022 and the two sides couldn’t agree to a long-term deal prior to the July 15 deadline. When Cincinnati declined to tag Bates again, the writing was on the wall,” says NFL.
