Geno Atkins Won't Play on Sunday Against the Steelers

Geno Atkins Won't Play on Sunday Against the Steelers

Geno Atkins will not play for the Bengals in Sunday's matchup against the Steelers, league sources tell AllBengals. 

The two-time All-Pro has been away from the team all week due to a family situation. There is hope that he will return next week in time for Cincinnati's road matchup with Washington.

Atkins has only appeared in four games this season. He suffered a shoulder injury during warm-ups in the Bengals’ final scrimmage of training camp. He’s been used sparingly since returning to the field in Week 5. The 32-year-old is still looking for his first tackle of the season and hasn’t been on the field for more than 19 snaps in any game this year.

Atkins averaged 51 snaps-per-game in 2019. The Bengals were hoping to pair him with prized free-agent signing DJ Reader, but injuries threw a wrench in their plan.

Reader, 25, suffered a season-ending quad injury on Oct. 11 against Baltimore. Atkins made his season debut earlier that day. 

Atkins had played in 96 consecutive regular season games before the start of the 2020 season. The eight-time Pro Bowler has 75.5 career sacks, which is the most ever by an interior lineman in Bengals’ history.

The team will be without Atkins against the Steelers, but they were on the receiving end of some good news earlier in the week. 

Sam Hubbard will be back on the field after missing the past three games with a left elbow injury. The third-year defensive end was cleared to practice earlier this week.

Hubbard injured his left elbow in Week 5 against the Ravens. The team will activate him before Sunday's game in Pittsburgh. 

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