Bengals cornerback Trae Waynes will receive a second opinion on his pectoral injury, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. The early fear is that Waynes won’t be able to debut with his new team until late October, at the earliest.
The Bengals refused to allow Waynes to take an off-site physical, which kept his $15M signing bonus in limbo. Waynes has passed the team physical, but the delay has prevented Waynes from his usual preseason preparations. Now, with just a few weeks to go before the start of the season, it’s looking like the Bengals’ new star cornerback will be sidelined for a while.
Waynes’ three-year, $42M deal is set to pay out $20M in 2020. Now one of the league’s 10 highest-paid cornerbacks, Waynes was expected to help lead a new-look secondary that is without former first-rounders Darqueze Dennard and Dre Kirkpatrick.
Waynes has topped out at an above-average level – he’s never graded above 70.0 on Pro Football Focus’ scale in five seasons. Still, the Bengals see big potential in the 28-year-old. Along with D.J. Reader, he’s one of the team’s most notable free-agent investments in years.
Former fifth-round pick Darius Phillips could take over nickel duties while Waynes heals up. In theory, the Bengals could also check in with veteran defensive back Logan Ryan.
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