The Bengals had two first-round picks in 2012, thanks to the trade that sent a quarterback who vowed never to play again for the Bengals to Oakland. One of those first-round picks, however, is already injured.
Though not as severe as the torn ACL that 17 years ago wiped out No. 1 overall pick Ki-Jana Carter’s rookie season before it even began, cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick is “telling associates” that he suffered a leg injury while preparing for training camp, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com.
The injury possibly entails a broken bone, which could make Kirkpatrick miss most or all of training camp.
If the injury occurred anywhere other than at the team’s facility, Kirkpatrick technically suffered a non-football injury. If it ends up being sufficiently serious to knock him out for the season, the Bengals technically wouldn’t have to pay him.
On one hand, it would be incredibly cheap and short-sighted to stiff a valued employee who was trying to keep himself in peak shape.
On the other hand, well, yeah.