Akeem Davis-Gaither to have surgery for injured foot, likely out for the year

Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither left last Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns with a foot injury, and it turns out the injury is pretty serious.

Head coach Zac Taylor told reporters Monday afternoon that Davis-Gaither will have surgery and will likely be out for the remainder of the season.

Not only is this a bummer for the 24-year old linebacker, it’s made a bad situation worse for the defense. Cincinnati lost backup linebacker Jordan Evans to a torn ACL last month and placed another backup linebacker, Markus Bailey, on the Reserve/COVID-19 list last week.

As of now, they have starters Logan Wilson and Germaine Pratt able to play to go with two backups in Joe Bachie and recently signed Clay Johnston. They also have Keandre Jones on the practice squad, who they can elevate for this week if needed.

There may be a small hope that Davis-Gaither could return for the playoffs if the team makes it and advances in January, but the safe assumption is we’ll see Davis-Gaither again next season.

A second-year player out of Appalachian State, Davis-Gaither was the Bengals’ fourth-round draft pick in 2020. He played in all nine games this season and amassed 21 solo tackles, three passes defensed, and a forced fumble in his 207 defensive snaps.