Bengals place Darius Phillips on Injured Reserve

The Cincinnati Bengals today have made the following roster moves:

• Placed cornerback/return specialist Darius Phillips on the Reserve/Injured list
• Signed punter Drue Chrisman to the practice squad

Phillips appeared to injure his shoulder after muffing the first of two punts on Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers. He was taken to the locker room, but soon returned to play after being evaluated.

The team benched Phillips after his second muffed punt that resulted in a turnover. Whether or not his injury is severe enough to warrant missing a few games, this is the team essentially opening up a roster spot to replace him for the time being.

With Phillips out until at least Week 18, the Bengals will need to settle on a replacement punt returner. Trenton Irwin is the likely the candidate, as he’s already on the active roster and has replaced Phillips before at that spot this season. Phillips’ roster spot at cornerback is likely to be filled by Trae Waynes, who was cleared to practice last Wednesday.

Chrisman, a rookie out of Ohio State and a Cincinnati native, spent the offseason practicing with the Bengals and was on the practice squad earlier in the season. He’s jumped around to a few other teams since then, but he’s back in his hometown for now.