Bengals Pro Bowl DT Geno Atkins (shoulder) out for season

The lingering shoulder injury that cost Cincinnati Bengals defensive tackle Geno Atkins the entire first quarter of the season will also prematurely end his campaign. It's possible the 32-year-old has played his final snap with the organization. 

Cincinnati officially placed Atkins, an eight-time Pro Bowl selection, on the injured reserve list on Wednesday. The Bengals are eliminated from playoff contention, and the NFL rule that mandates any player on IR must miss a minimum of three games will keep the veteran of 11 seasons sidelined through Week 17. 

Atkins didn't debut this fall until the team's Week 5 loss to the Baltimore Ravens and never seems to be playing at full health. As Ben Baby explained for ESPN, Atkins didn't play more than 30% of Cincinnati's defensive snaps in a single game once he returned to the lineup. This will be the first season he finishes without recording a sack. 

Atkins is signed through the 2022 season, but it's widely been speculated that the Bengals could look to trade him when he's healthy or simply make him a salary-cap casualty so they can bolster other aspects of the squad, particularly the offensive line tasked with protecting young quarterback Joe Burrow. 

Cincinnati enters Monday's prime-time divisional showdown with the Pittsburgh Steelers at 2-10-1 and will close the season with contests against the Houston Texans and Baltimore Ravens.