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With training camps still over a month away, former Bengals star Geno Atkins has yet to find his next NFL home.
Atkins, who was released earlier this offseason, is easily one of the best free agents left on the market. Sure, 2020 was a disaster for him, but a shoulder injury suffered in August plagued Atkins throughout the season and led to him logging just 119 defensive snaps.
It turned out the injury was a torn rotator cuff Atkins would have surgery on this past January, and he’s now close to being medically cleared while drawing interest from several teams, according to NFL Network reporter Ian Rapoport. Atkins hopes to be cleared by Cowboys team doctor Dan Cooper, who performed the surgery.
#Cowboys team physician Dr. Dan Cooper performed the surgery on Atkins. To be clear, that’s why he’s doing the checkup. It’s not a Dallas visit. https://t.co/PuIZyaMRkV
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 4, 2021
It’s unclear if the Bengals are among the teams interested in re-signing the 33-year-old Atkins once he’s healthy. Defensive tackle is a fairly deep position now after the Bengals acquired Larry Ogunjobi and Tyler Shelvin this offseason, while Josh Tupou is returning after opting out of the 2020 season. There’s also hope Renell Wren can rebound from his 2020 season-ending quad injury and a contributor this year.
Still, a healthy Atkins may very well be better than any defensive tackle the Bengals currently have.