Cincinnati Bengals Roster 2020 Cincinnati Bengals Roster

Top Bengals Roster Questions of 2020

Does the A.J. Green Injury Already Kill Their Chances?

A.J. Green is the rare wide receiver that is likely the most indispensable player on his team’s offense. So, it was a brutal blow to see him go down in training camp. According to most diagnostics, he’s likely to miss the beginning the season. Obviously this is better than a season ending injury, but even then, this injury might have already killed the Bengals chances. The Bengals open their season with a pretty difficult stretch. They’ll have to face the Seahawks, 49ers, Bills, and Steelers to open their season, and three of the four games will be on the road. Both the Seahawks and Steelers are two teams widely viewed as playoff caliber, while the Bills and 49ers are both considered teams on the rise that are playoff sleepers. It’s very likely that the Bengals might start off the season 1-3 or even 0-4. That would effectively kill their chances to make the playoffs. For a team already considered mediocre with Green, having to play any stretch of the season without him is going to be extremely difficult.

How Improved is Their Offensive Line?

The Bengals offensive line was pretty dreadful last season, and it was part of the reason the Bengals season fell apart after a strong start. Unfortunately, it seems that not much will be changing from last season personnel wise. The Bengals seemed to make a major acquisition for their offensive line when they drafted Jonah Williams 11th, but he tore his labrum and will likely miss all of this season. The Bengals will be hoping that better health for their offensive line will improve their peformance. Two players on the unit, Cordy Glenn and Billy Price, both struggled with injuries last year so there’s hope that they’ll be better operating at full strength. Even then, there are some major concerns, especially at left guard. It’s concerning that the Bengals have yet to decide who their starter will be at that position. Chemistry is a big part for an offensive line, so the more the Bengals wait to decide who will be the left guard, the less time the offensive line will get to mesh. It’s likely the Bengals offensive line plays slightly better than they did last year, but expecting a major leap is foolhardy.

Will Tyler Eifert Finally Stay Healthy This Year?

Tyler Eifert has been one of the most injury prone players in the league. He’s missed a whopping 34 combined games in the past 3 seasons, more than 70 percent of the total games played. It’s particularly frustrating because when Eifert’s been healthy, he’s been pretty productive. In his last mostly healthy season in 2015, Eifert scored 13 touchdowns and had more than 600 receiving yards. When he plays, he adds a new dimension to the Bengals offense and helps give their passing game more variety. That hasn’t happened in a while unfortunately. If the Bengals truly want to be competitive this year, having Eifert fully healthy and able to contribute is a must, as they’ll need all the help they can get to even stay afloat in their own division.