Already expected to be without their top wide receiver, the Cincinnati Bengals also are dealing with an injury to their best running back.
Joe Mixon was a surprise addition to Cincinnati’s injury report on Thursday, listed as limited due to a knee injury. Mixon was not listed on the injury report Wednesday.
That puts the starting running back’s status into question for Sunday’s game at the Baltimore Ravens. The Bengals are expected to be without No. 1 wideout A.J. Green, who is dealing with a toe injury that forced him to sit out last week’s lopsided loss against New Orleans.
Mixon missed a pair of games earlier this season after undergoing a procedure to repair a slight meniscus tear in his right knee. He was hurt in Cincinnati’s 34-23 victory over the Ravens in Week 2.
The team’s leading rusher with 570 yards and four touchdowns, Mixon is averaging 4.9 yards per carry and also has 21 catches and a receiving TD. He ran for a season-high 123 yards and two scores in a 37-34 win over Tampa Bay on Oct. 28.
If Mixon is unable to go against the Ravens, Giovani Bernard will take over as the lead back. Bernard rushed for 130 yards and three touchdowns in his two starts in place of Mixon, but he had been sidelined since Week 4 with a knee injury before seeing sparse duty last weekend.
Bernard, who was dealing with a sprained MCL, has ample experience in the backfield since he was selected in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft. Bernard rushed for at least 680 yards in each of his first three seasons. He is a reliable pass-catching threat out of the backfield with 230 receptions in his first five seasons.
Mixon rushed for 84 yards on 21 carries in the earlier matchup against the Ravens after opening the season with 95 yards and a touchdown on 17 rushes in a win at Indianapolis.
The 6-foot-1, 228-pound Mixon rushed for 626 yards and four touchdowns in addition to catching 30 passes for 287 yards as a rookie in 2017.
