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The Bengals today placed DT Geno Atkins on the Reserve/Injured list. With only three weeks left in the season, this means that Atkins’ 2020 season is officially over.
Atkins, an 11th-year veteran and eight-time Pro Bowl pass rusher, suffered a right shoulder injury near the end of training camp. The team is placing him on the Reserve/Injured list because of this injury, as he never seemed to fully recover from it.
Per NFL insider Ian Rapoport, Atkins will have his shoulder surgically repaired.
As Geno Atkins heads into an offseason of uncertainty, source said he’s having shoulder surgery to repair an injury that plagued him from the start. https://t.co/6iz8lsZl96
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 16, 2020
Atkins missed Cincinnati’s first four games this season due to his injury and never played 20 or more snaps in any of the eight games he has played in this year.
Not only is Atkins’ season over, his Bengals career might be over as well. The team can release the soon-to-be 33-year old defensive tackle this offseason and save almost $10 million in salary cap space. He has played in 161 career games (134 starts), and stands third in team history with 75.5 sacks.
In a corresponding move, the team has activated DE Amani Bledsoe from the Reserve/COVID-19 list. Bledsoe had been on the list since December 6th after he tested positive for COVID-19.