Bengals: Larry Ogunjobi on PUP list is massive blow to defense

Training camp is underway for the Cincinnati Bengals and unfortunately, there’s already bad news to be had. Free-agent signee Larry Ogunjobi was placed on the PUP list on Wednesday, per the team.

We’ll find out more about this situation as the day continues but for now, it’s understandable why fans might be freaking out a bit.

The Bengals signed Ogunjobi in the offseason to help their defensive front — a unit in which they spent a lot of money and draft picks to fix — so if he isn’t able to take the field, this defense is going to be in rough shape.

The Cincinnati Bengals placed Larry Ogunjobi on the PUP list.

The Bengals stole Ogunjobi away from division rival Cleveland this offseason with the intent of having him start on their defensive line. Ogunjobi had 46 tackles and two sacks last year through 15 starts with the Browns and the Bengals were looking forward to having that kind of production upfront on defense.

Hopefully, Ogunjobi is able to contribute when the regular season gets underway but if not, Mike Daniels is going to have to step up and potentially step into the starting role. This is also an opportunity for the rookies to show what they can do and if they can thrive in a starting role.

As Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic tweeted above, losing Ogunjobi is something this team can’t have happen. This defense is already suspect but losing a guy they brought in to help shore up their d-line is one of the worst things that could happen at this point of the offseason.

Hopefully, it’s nothing serious and this is a precautionary thing. We’ll find out more this afternoon.