The injury news at the cornerback position for the Bengals just keeps getting worse. We knew that rookie defensive back Shaun Prater hadn't practiced since the rookie minicamps, but we didn't know how severe his injury was. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, it's severe enough for the Bengals to be placing him on Injured Reserve.

Prater will undergo surgery to clean up his knee at a later date. The rehabilitation, centered around his patella, could take up to four months, but he's expected to be ready for the offseason conditioning program.

This is not welcomed news for a position group that has been hobbling so far this offseason. Prater, though apparently headed to IR, joins fellow rookie Dre Kirkpatrick and 2010 third round pick Brandon Ghee as the walking wounded. Ironically, the age at the position group was supposed to be the Achilles heel, but the younger players have fell victim to injury woes. There hasn't been any official announcement from the club, so we'll keep you updated once we hear more.