Bengals safety Ricardo Allen to miss time with broken hand and hamstring strain, per report

UPDATE: Head coach Zac Taylor confirms Allen will go to I.R. In a corresponding move, wide receiver Trenton Irwin will replace Allen on the active roster.

The Cincinnati Bengals didn’t come out of Week 1 as healthy as we thought they did.

Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, backup safety Ricardo Allen suffered both a broken hand and a hamstring strain against the Minnesota Vikings.

Schefter says Allen will miss at least three weeks, which likely means the Bengals will place Allen on the Reserve/Injured list. If so, Allen will be forced to miss at least three weeks as he recovers from both injuries.

It’s unclear exactly when Allen was injured on Sunday. The veteran safety played 21 snaps for Cincinnati’s defense as an extra defensive back. Pro Football Focus gave him the highest grade for the Bengals’ defense (85.4).

Despite not playing much in the preseason, Allen figures to have a notable role in the secondary. The team can replace him with either Brandon Wilson or Trayvon Henderson, who is currently on the practice squad. Cincinnati chose to protect Henderson as one of their four practice squad players from being poached by other teams this week, so it’s likely he gets elevated to the active roster for next Sunday’s game against the Chicago Bears.

Allen signed a one-year deal with the Bengals on March 24th. He originally was a fifth-round draft pick by the Atlanta Falcons back in 2014.