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The Cincinnati Bengals have endured a massively disappointing season and there's plenty of blame to go around, with the notable exceptions of Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase, who both lead the league in touchdowns at their respective positions. The Bengals are poised to miss the playoffs for the second straight season and the team’s failures this year have raised questions about the future of head coach Zac Taylor.
Even Cincinnati’s normally reliable kicker Evan McPherson has had a down year in 2024. But McPherson won’t factor into the Bengals’ Week 14 Monday Night Football matchup against the Dallas Cowboys. With the fourth-year kicker injured, Cincinnati has elevated Cade York from the practice squad for Monday night’s game, according to NFL insider Ian Rapoport on X.
McPherson suffered a groin injury in the Bengals’ Week 13 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. While it didn’t appear particularly serious initially, Cincinnati ultimately had to move the kicker to injured reserve. The team signed York to the practice squad after he spent most of the year as a free agent following his release from the Washington Commanders due to a poor performance in the season opener.
York was selected in the fourth round of the 2022 draft by the Cleveland Browns. He played all 17 games of his rookie season, hitting 75 percent of his kicks for Cleveland. However, he was released by the Browns prior to the 2023 season and has only appeared in one game since his rookie campaign, when he went 0-2 in the Commanders’ Week 1 loss to the New England Patriots.
The Bengals will turn to kicker Cade York on Monday night
McPherson has been a durable, reliable kicker for the Bengals since the team drafted him in the fifth round in 2021. Prior to this season, he never dipped below 82.8 percent on field goals. However, he’s currently at a career-low 72.7 percent of kicks made in 2024. And he could be done for the season.
With the IR move, McPherson must sit out a minimum of four games, making him first eligible to return in the last week of the season. With the Bengals sitting at 4-8 entering their Monday night clash with the Cowboys, the team is unlikely to be playing for anything in Week 18, meaning Cincinnati could choose to shelve McPherson for the remainder of the season.
The Bengals will take on the Cowboys in Dallas on Monday night. Of course, there hasn’t been much of a home field advantage for the Cowboys in 2024. The team is just 1-5 when playing in Dallas this season.
Despite the matchup featuring two disappointing teams on the verge of being eliminated from playoff contention, both the Bengals and the Cowboys received positive injury news ahead of their Week 14 game. Wideout CeeDee Lamb and TE Jake Ferguson will play for Dallas while WR Ja’Marr Chase will suit up for Cincy. Chase had popped up on Thursday’s injury report with an ankle ailment but returned to a full session on Friday.
