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Ben Baby, ESPN Staff Writer
CINCINNATI — The Bengals will be without a depth edge rusher for multiple weeks.
Defensive end Myles Murphy is expected to miss four to six weeks with a sprained right MCL, a source told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler on Thursday. Cincinnati will be conservative in how it handles Murphy’s recovery so he will be fully available when he does return.
Murphy, the team’s first-round pick in 2023, sustained the injury in the team’s joint practice against the Indianapolis Colts on Tuesday. He was carted off the field and spotted limping heavily through the locker room during the team’s media availability period.
The former Clemson standout received ample playing time during training camp and in preseason games. Cincinnati’s top two edge rushers, Sam Hubbard (knee) and Trey Hendrickson (chest) have missed chunks of camp with their respective injuries. Both are back and are expected to be ready to go for the season opener against the New England Patriots on Sept. 8.
But the latest injury will continue to test Cincinnati’s depth along the defensive line. Defensive tackle McKinnley Jackson, a third-round pick this year, is week-to-week with a sprained knee. Defensive end Cam Sample is out for the season with a torn Achilles.
As a rookie, Murphy appeared in all 17 of Cincinnati’s games and totaled three sacks. But toward the end of the season, he was one of the more disruptive rookies. In the final five weeks of the season, Murphy ranked fourth among rookies in pass rush win rate as an edge rusher, an ESPN metric powered by NFL Next Gen Stats.