Lost in the hype of the Cincinnati Bengals putting a 41-10 beatdown on the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 12 was the team losing offensive linemen Riley Reiff and Trey Hopkins to injury.
But it turns out the injury news is mostly of the good variety.
According to head coach Zac Taylor, Hopkins doesn’t have a serious injury and Reiff could have returned to the game in an emergency sort of situation.
It’s a huge sigh of relief for the Bengals. Reiff, the starter at right tackle who came over via free agency this past offseason, suffered an ankle issue the team was mum about for a notable amount of time. He’s been solid on the edge and, paired with new right guard Hakeem Adeniji, helping the right side become a strength.
As for the center Hopkins, he got rolled up on in a brutal-looking injury but managed to jog off. That it’s not serious is remarkable — and a good thing considering he’s starting to get back to pre-injury form after coming back early from a season-ending injury suffered last December.
At this point, it wouldn’t be too surprising if either of these guys got held out for precautionary reasons next week against the Chargers. But the fact it’s not a long-term injury for either means the team gets to keep enjoying fantastic injury luck this year.
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