Already extremely thin at wide receiver, the Cincinnati Bengals will likely be without Brandon LaFell for a while as he recovers from a torn ligament in his hand.
As reported by Mike Garafolo of NFL.com, surgery is a possibility for LaFell, though on a positive note this isn’t considered a season-ending injury.
That’s excellent news for both the player and his team in the long run. However, the Bengals are in a tough spot now trying to fill the void left in LaFell’s absence.
After all, LaFell was brought on this offseason as a free agent to help soften the blow of losing both Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu — both of whom left for other teams in free agency. Additionally, tight end Tyler Eifert is not going to be available right away to start the season.
Before getting injured, LaFell was slated to play opposite All-Pro AJ Green in the starting lineup.
Now that he’s out of commission, it looks like rookie Tyler Boyd will have to step up in a major way. Thankfully he’s been coming on strong during camp and showed off some playmaking abilities during Week 1, when he caught a 40-yard bomb.
Another receiver that needs to step up is Brandon Tate, who has never been more than a rotational player during his seven-year career.
On a different note, fantasy football owners would be wise to evaluate the Bengals’ two top running backs, Jeremy Hill and Gio Bernard, as potential studs early in the season. If the passing game is crippled by lack of depth and injuries, the running game will surely be leaned upon to pick up the slack.