Andre Gets A Bad Break; Update: Will Only Miss 7-10 Days
By nate
Despite being in impeccable football shape (oh wait…) and having a number of practices already under his belt (oh wait…), Andre Smith fractured a bone in his foot during a non-contact drill. In case you missed it, that was a non-contact drill. Which means the broken bone occurred either by a fluke accident or because Smith’s body wasn’t quite ready to handle the basic movements of practice. Barf.
Marvin Lewis said it’s only a minor fracture and Smith should only be out a few weeks, but I’m not optimistic. A broken bone on a big man’s foot doesn’t seem to be a recipe for a quick recovery. For better or worse, it looks like the Bengals will be going with Anthony Collins for the foreseeable future.
Dare I even mention their names (Ki-Jana Carter, Chris Perry, David Pollack, Kenny Irons, Doh!), but I’m just hoping this isn’t the beginning of another Bengals career overrun by injuries. Let’s keep our fingers crossed.
In another interesting note, ProFootballTalk.com is reporting that Smith’s contract contains a clause that cuts his pay in half every time he weighs more than 350 pounds in a game. His pay is also supposedly cut in half in every game in which he is not on the active 45-man roster. It will be interesting to see how injuries affect that clause.
Update: ProFootballTalk.com is citing a report from Jason LaCanfora saying Smith will only miss 7-10 days. I’d rather see him rest it fully than rush back and be lost for the season. Stay tuned.
Finally, since we are all in need of good news, here are a few nuggets: Kyle Orton, who will suit up at quarterback for the Denver Broncos in Week One, has suffered an open dislocation of his finger according to ProFootballTalk.com. The report says he will play through the injury and will still start the first game. However, the news continues a long line of hot-messedness for the Broncos and new coach Josh McDaniel. At this point, if the Bengals can’t beat Denver at home in the first game, I’ll be just about ready to jump ship.
And out in Pittsburgh, where the Steelers are due for some bad luck, starting guard Darnell Stapleton has been moved to the injured reserve, ending his season. About 18 more of those and they will get close to matching the Bengals MASH unit from last year. Fingers crossed. I guess it might be a bit unethical to root for injuries, but given that we are Bengals fans, I’d say we are entitled to root for just about anything that might bring our team a few more wins.