Cincinnati Bengals edge rusher Sam Hubbard has had a career year cut short.
Buy Bengals TicketsHubbard suffered a calf injury during Sunday’s win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and was eventually ruled out.
On the Monday after the victory, reports surfaced that Hubbard will miss a chunk of time, potentially interfering with his ability to get on the field for a playoff game.
The report, from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero: “Bengals DE Sam Hubbard is expected to miss a few weeks because of the left calf injury he suffered Sunday, per source. The hope is Hubbard – who has started every game and has 6½ sacks this season – can make it back for the playoffs.”
“A few weeks” is a wide range but it generally seems to rule out Hubbard for Week 16 against New England and Week 17 against Buffalo. Maybe there’s a chance Hubbard cuts it close for the season finale against the Ravens.
At that point though, the Bengals would probably want to play it safe and just get him back for a playoff game. In the interim, the Bengals have to hope Trey Hendrickson can get right after he missed the Buccaneers game.
An injury like this only further stresses Joe Burrow’s point about striving to get the No. 1 seed.
