Bengals' season-opener opponent may have just suffered a major loss during latest training camp practice

Emerson, drafted in the third-round of the 2022 NFL Draft, has played in 50 games for Cleveland and started 33 of them, including five appearances (four starts) against Cincinnati. He's put together two 17-game campaigns and played in 16 in 2023. Durability has been one of his biggest strengths, and an early camp practice has shaken that up for the worse.

An Achilles tear is not yet official and these things can change quickly, but the scene from Browns practice was far from an encouraging one when the 24-year old went down to the grass.

Anything resembling a full tear would not only knock Emerson out of the season-opener on Sept. 7, it would almost certainly take him out of the entire season. This was also the last year of his rookie contract, which is an even greater blow for him.

Cincinnati faced Cleveland in Week 1 of the 2023 season, which was one of Emerson's best games of his young career. He was targeted by Joe Burrow five times while covering Tee Higgins or Ja'Marr Chase and allowed zero receptions. The Bengals lost 24-3 that day.

Games like that have Cincinnati focused on getting off to a better start to the upcoming season. Head coach Zac Taylor sports a 1-5 record in Week 1 with the Bengals and is an even worse 0-6 in Week 2.

Emerson's injury will surely impact the Bengals' game plan when it comes to fruition in the next several weeks.