Bengals Lose Safety for Season

The Bengals have lost a critical special teamer and safety in second-year man Tycen Anderson, who they placed on injured reserve. Anderson will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL, head coach Zac Taylor announced on Friday. The injury occurred early in the team’s win over the San Francisco 49ers, but somehow, Anderson played through the entire game with it. Only after evaluation following the game did the medical staff find that Anderson had torn his ACL.

Coming out of Toledo, Anderson tested as an explosive athlete, but could find his way onto a roster in his rookie season. But coming back around in his second season, he looked like a different player. The Bengals have veteran safety and special teamer Mike Thomas on their practice squad to help replace Anderson, but he had been off to a great start. He racked up eight special teams tackles this season before suffering the injury. That is the second most in the NFL to show how much of an ace he turned into for the group.

Cincinnati’s special teams have turned out to be one of the best units in all of football. But losing Anderson is a direct blow to that group. Anderson flashed his ability to be more than just that in the preseason, too, with a multi-interception game helping catapult him to the roster as essential safety depth. He is expected to make a full recovery.