Report: Bengals cornerback Trae Waynes expected to miss most of the 2020 season

Bengals cornerback Trae Waynes is expected to miss most of the 2020 season

CINCINNATI — The Bengals haven't even started practicing in full pads, but they could be without one of their biggest free agent signings for most, if not all of the 2020 season. 

Cornerback Trae Waynes underwent surgery for a torn pectoral muscle and will miss a "sizable portion" of the season according to Ian Rapoport and Tom Pelissero. 

It's a devastating blow to a completely remade secondary. The Bengals signed Waynes to a three-year, $42 million contract in March. 

"It is unfortunate," head coach Zac Taylor said last week. "Those guys have been working hard since they’ve been in the building. It’s just an unfortunate situation. These things happen during training camp. I’m excited to get him healthy and back on the field for us."

Waynes reportedly suffered the injury while lifting weights. He's played in at least 14 games in all five of his NFL seasons. He's started 44 of a possible 48 regular season games over the past three years.

It looks like he'll miss most of the season, although Rapoport says there is still a chance that he can return at some point in 2020. 

It's worth noting that William Jackson III suffered a similar injury in 2016 and missed his entire rookie year. There was a limit on the number of players the Bengals could activate off of injured reserve at the time, which could've been why Jackson didn't return to the field. 

The Bengals will likely place Waynes on injured reserve this week. Every NFL team can activate an unlimited number of players from IR this season. They only need to spend three weeks on injured reserve before being activated.

That means regardless of what other injuries occur, Waynes could take the field again in 2020 if he's able to get back to 100 percent. 

Look for Darius Phillips, LeShaun Sims and Winston Rose to potentially compete for the suddenly vacant starting job. 

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