Dre Kirkpatrick Remaining Optimistic; Returns For On-Field Side Work

It's been a frustrating few months with Dre Kirkpatrick for the Bengals and their fans. The first round cornerback has fought a nagging knee injury since Training Camp opened and the one time that he attempted to return, the injury flared back up again.

Fans need to keep it into perspective, though. As frustrating as it has been for all of us to watch this unfold, imagine how tough it has been for Kirkpatrick himself. He's a competitor and former National Champion, so one has to assume that he's aching to get out there to help his team. Heck, we wouldn't be surprised that the setback that occurred due to a premature return was due to his urging of coaches to get back on the field. Regardless, Kirkpatrick is keeping his head down and remaining positive about things.

When asked about his progress, Kirkpatrick explained that his rehab process is moving forward, albeit slowly:

"I’m going to meetings, coming in and getting extra treatment, watching plays," Kirkpatrick said. "Right now is the first day I went out to do rehab. I went out there and got a little cardio work in. I’m trying to work back into it. I’m getting ready to get back on the field."

While those are steps that are leading Kirkpatrick to head in the right direction, the comment unfortunately has the same ring to it as it did a few weeks back. When he suffered the setback at the beginning of the month, the team decided that it would be a couple of weeks before they would put Kirkpatrick back to practice in an effort to fully heal the bone spur. He hasn't been doing on-field drills but, as you can see, he is doing some light side work. Hopefully this is signaling a quick and healthy return for Kirkpatrick.