Bengals rookie All Jr. out for season with knee injury

Fairfield High School tore his ACL during Sunday’s win over Raiders
Bengals tight end Erick All Jr. warms up before their 16-10 loss to New England Patriots Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024 at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati. NICK GRAHAM/STAFF

Credit: Nick Graham

Credit: Nick Graham

Bengals tight end Erick All Jr. warms up before their 16-10 loss to New England Patriots Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024 at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati. NICK GRAHAM/STAFF

CINCINNATI — Bengals coach Zac Taylor confirmed Monday what he feared would be the case regarding the seriousness of Erick All Jr.’s knee injury.

The rookie tight end tore his ACL during Sunday’s win against Las Vegas and will be out for the remainder of the season, just over a year after he suffered the same injury to end his college career at Iowa.

His second ACL tear occurred when All planted his right foot as he made a 6-yard reception during the second quarter, and it appeared his knee buckled.

“Horrible for him,” Taylor said Monday. “He obviously rehabbed, put himself in a position from the previous one a year ago and did all the things he could do to help us win and just a guy you love being around and appreciate. He’ll be back. He knows the process, he’s done it before. We’ll figure out what all the ins and outs are, the surgery, how long and all that, but it’s unfortunate for him.”

All, a fourth-round draft pick in April and product of Fairfield High School, finishes his rookie season with 158 yards on 20 catches, but his biggest contributions don’t show up in the stats. His versatility as a pass-catcher and someone who can block in both the running and passing games enabled the Bengals to use him in a lot of different ways.

Cincinnati was using a lot more 12-personnel with two tight ends because of that, giving the Bengals another element to their offense for opponents to consider. For stretches this season, that proved effective for the running game. Now the Bengals will have to figure out how to get that going in other ways. They have four other tight ends on the roster with Mike Gesicki, Tanner Hudson, Drew Sample and fellow rookie Tanner McLachlan, a sixth-round pick who has yet to play.

“It’s unfortunate anytime you lose a player who’s doing so well, that you’re counting on,” Taylor said. “We’ve got a really smart, good tight end room that can fill those roles. We’ll always adapt and find the right ways to keep the offense moving forward. Obviously, I think people see the role he’s playing for us and had a lot of responsibilities in our system, and so it hurts, but this is part of this league. A lot of teams are losing key players and that’s just the moment we’re in right now. Fortunate that we have a big group in that tight end room, so those guys are going to step up and fill that role for us.”

The Bengals also are dealing with the absence of running back Zack Moss, who was out Sunday because of a neck injury that surfaced Friday. Taylor said he hopes to have more information later this week on a timeline for his recovery.

Chase Brown suffered a bruise to his ribs Sunday while taking on a full load with all of the carries out of the backfield, but Taylor noted he is just sore. He recorded his first 100-yard performance with 120 yards on 27 rushes and took some big hits Sunday in the process.

Asked if the Bengals need to look at running backs in light of Moss’ injury, Taylor said that is something the front office will explore ahead of Tuesday’s 4 p.m. trade deadline.

“I think we’ve got to be open to everything,” Taylor said. “And that’s what Duke (Tobin) and his staff do an excellent job of, always just making sure we’re equipped with everything that we need. And so going through that process of seeing what’s available, see where we can help ourselves in all areas.”

Defensive tackle BJ Hill, who exited the game Sunday with a rib injury, looks “better than expected,” Taylor said, and the team will be cautious with wide receiver/returner Charlie Jones as he nurses a groin injury.

Taylor said it’s unclear what this week will look like for Tee Higgins (quad) and Orlando Brown Jr. (knee/fibula), as they seek to get back on the field for Thursday’s game at Baltimore. The short week impacts the ability to get them back into a regular practice routine, but Taylor said they have the desire to give it a go and now it’s just a matter of seeing how they look physically.

“We just need to make sure we’re not putting them in a bad spot by putting them out there,” Taylor said.

The Bengals do plan to get Jermaine Burton back into practices this week, and Taylor said the expectation is he will play Thursday, despite being inactive Sunday for disciplinary reasons after reportedly missing a walkthrough Saturday.

THURSDAY’S GAME

Bengals at Ravens, 8:15 p.m., Amazon Prime, 700, 1530, 102.7, 104.7

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