Bengals place Trae Waynes on Injured Reserve; announce Torry McTyer signing

The Bengals today announce that cornerback Trae Waynes has been placed on the Reserved/Injured list. In a corresponding move, the team has made the signing of cornerback Torry McTyer official. McTyer’s agency broke the news of his signing on Sunday.

Waynes suffered a torn pectoral early on in training camp and his reported prognosis was that he could be out for two months. That was more on the optimistic side, as it’s entirely possible he may not return to the field until late in the season, if he returns at all.

To keep that a possibility, the Bengals kept Waynes on the initial 53-man roster so he could become eligible to return from the Reserve/Injured list sometime this season. One of the many adjusted rules this year allows NFL clubs to bring back as many eligible players from I.R. as they want. They just have to wait a minimum three weeks to do so.

The Bengals will have to wait longer than that to get a healthy Waynes back in the fold. Taking his roster spot for now is McTyer, who figures to be Mackensie Alexander’s backup at slot cornerback.

Originally a street free agent signee of the Bengals during last season, McTyer signed a one-year, $825,000 deal to stay in Cincinnati this offseason. He was waived last Saturday during final cuts and cleared waivers.

Waynes signed a three-year, $42 million contract—his first big contract as a free agent—with the Bengals this offseason. He will count for $10 million against the salary cap this season on I.R. and, hopefully, on the active roster.