Bengals middle linebacker Rey Maualuga is expected to miss about a month after suffering a pair of injuries on Sunday.
Maualuga, who was carted off the field during Sunday’s win over the Jets, suffered a sprained MCL that will sideline him for three or four weeks, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.
Maualuga also suffered a concussion on Sunday, but it sounds like he’s expected to be cleared to return from the concussion sooner than he’ll be cleared to return from the knee injury.
That’s not good news for the Bengals, who have had Maualuga in the starting lineup every week for each of the last two seasons. But it’s actually better news than most people who saw him go down during Sunday’s game would have expected.
The Bengals will be without Maualuga on Thursday night against the Dolphins and will likely be without him for back-to-back division games against the Ravens and Browns as well. After that the Bengals have their bye week, and Maualuga’s return would seem likely on December 1 against the Chargers.