The Bengals already knew they would be playing shorthanded against New Orleans Saturday night in their third preseason game but the list at wide receiver got a little longer Wednesday.
The team-owned Web site reported that Marcus Maxwell suffered a torn muscle that could keep him out of the lineup for the first month of the season. Maxwell has been among the candidates vying for the No. 3 wide receiver spot behind Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh.
Johnson (shoulder), Houshmandzadeh (hamstring) and rookie Andre Caldwell (foot sprain) were already not going to play against the Saints.
On Thursday the Bengals released Maxwell as waived/injured. Should he clear waivers he will revert to the team's injured reserve list.
Head coach Marvin Lewis declined to confirm the Web site’s report or comment on it Wednesday but Thursday's transaction verified the report. NFL teams are not required to provide injury reports to the media during preseason as they are in the regular season. Lewis has been purposely vague in the case of numerous injured players this preseason, whether it is about the specifics of an injury or how long a player will be out because of the injury.
Lewis addressed that issue during a press conference Wednesday afternoon when he was asked how long he thought Caldwell would be out of action.
“There is no reason (and) no advantage for us to try to put a time frame on anyone’s injury because until they go back out and show us that they can practice they can’t play,” said Lewis. “That’s not smart. If I’ve learned one thing in five years it’s not to give you guys any kind of time frame, or (to the) player because then it puts the pressure on one way or the other. This way there really is no pressure.”
Glenn Holt, Antonio Chatman and rookie Jerome Simpson will get to see more action with all of the injuries, along with rookies Mario Urrutia, Maurice Purify and Clyde Logan.
Simpson caught five passes for 114 yards last Sunday against Detroit. During his press conference Lewis referenced Simpson getting more playing time this week without saying (or being asked) why.
“It will be, obviously, a great opportunity for Jerome to get some great playing time with the first group in a lot of different personnel groupings,” said Lewis. “So I think that's a real positive.”
Elsewhere on the injury front, rookie defensive tackle Pat Sims left the game against Detroit with a turf toe injury that is going to keep him off the field indefinitely. Through the first two games Sims showed an ability to get consistent penetration into the offensive backfield and be a disruptive force at the line of scrimmage.
Lewis characterized the injury as being pretty severe as far as turf toes go. When and if Sims returns will be determined by the amount of pain he is able to withstand.
“He's got a turf toe, which is basically a sprained toe. The extent of it will be just a matter of how it comes along, if it comes along right now or not,” said Lewis. “He has been seen by our orthopedic doctor, he's by seen by a specialist, and he'll go see another specialist, and we'll see what kind of recommendations they have for him. In the interim, they said to see how it comes along and how it calms down and what kind of pain he's dealing with.”