Through the first month of the season, the Cincinnati Bengals have been shorthanded in the backfield with running back Joe Mixon being out of the fold due to knee surgery.
The Bengals were hit with another injury as backup Giovani Bernard has been declared out for the next two to four weeks with an MCL sprain. (h/t Herbie Teope of NFL.com)
Giovani Bernard is out two to four weeks with an MCL sprain, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reported, via a source informed of the situation.
Bernard has stepped into the starting role with Mixon sidelined over the last couple of weeks as he has provided reliable production over that span. He has produced more than 60 yards rushing and more than 20 receiving yards in each game while reaching the end zone three times. Bernard has proven to be a more than capable fill-in starter for Mixon over the last two seasons that has helped keep the team moving forward without any concern of a lack of production from that spot on the offense.
However, this injury will put him out of the mix for potentially the next month while it couldn't have come at a more opportune time as Mixon is expected to make his return to the team for Week 5 action against the Miami Dolphins. This could have been a potentially drastic situation, but the Bengals are getting back their star running where he will be slated for a huge workload and possibly a big bounce-back outing.
Bernard's injury pushes rookie running back Mark Walton into the backup role in his place over the next few weeks as he recovers from the keen injury. Walton had registered nine rushing yards on five attempts and two receptions for 28 receiving yards. He could be line for a limited workload as the primary backup, especially as the Bengals work Mixon back in.
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