Cincinnati Bengals Waive Punter Brad Robbins as Ryan Rehkow Leads NFL in Gross, Net Average

Jay Morrison | 13 Hours Ago

Cincinnati Bengals punter Brad Robbins (10) and place kicker Evan McPherson (2) walk the sideline in the first quarter of the NFL Week 12 game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Pittsburgh Steelers at Paycor Stadium in Cincinnati on Sunday, Nov. 26, 2023. / Sam Greene/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bengals have waived punter Brad Robbins, ending the 2023 sixth-round pick’s tenure with the team.

For now.

But if could be forever if rookie Ryan Rehkow continues to perform the way he has in the first four weeks, rising to the top the NFL leaderboard in both gross punting average (58.4) and net punting average (49.7).

One day after Rehkow’s impressive performance in the 34-24 victory at Carolina – three punts for a 56.7-yard average with two landing inside the 20 and one inside the 10 – the Bengals activated Robbins from Injured Reserve to the 53-man roster Monday.

It was a procedural move necessitated by the fact that the team took advantage of a new rule this year that allowed teams to designate up to two players to return from IR on cutdown day, meaning they didn’t have to carry them through to the initial 53-man roster before making the IR move, as had been the case in the past.

Defensive end Myles Murphy was the other player the Bengals designated to return at the time, and the team is expected to open a 21-day window for his return to the 53-man roster this week.

By utilizing the new rule, the Bengals had to return Robbins to the 53-man roster before waiving him if they want to be eligible to re-sign him at any point this season.

When Robbins injured his hip flexor in August, which is why he landed on IR, the thought was that Rehkow, who had been impressive but inconsistent during training camp and the preseason games, would use the four weeks to continue his audition.

If the Bengals still were unsure, they could have kept one punter on the active roster and one on the practice squad and let the competition continue in practice.

But Rehkow has proven he deserves the job.

The Bengals could have stashed Robbins on Injured Reserve much longer as a contingency plan, but they are doing him a favor by waiving him now, enabling him to audition for other teams.

The timing worked out where they had an open spot on the 53-man roster after placing Trent Brown on IR last week with a patellar tendon injury.

If Rehkow were to begin to struggle, the Bengals could pick up the phone and call Robbins if he doesn’t land on another roster.

At the moment, however, Rehkow is on pace to shatter team records.

Kevin Huber holds the franchise record for best gross punting average in a season at 47.18 in 2020 (Drue Chrisman had 47.8 in 2022 but was 12 punts shy of the minimum of 40 to qualify).

Huber also holds the record for net punt average at 42.82, which he set 2020.  

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