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| Bengals CB Dre Kirkpatrick, selected No. 17 overall out of Alabama, is expected to make his NFL debut Sunday. (US Presswire) |
A knee injury sidelined first-round pick CB Dre Kirkpatrick the first two months of the season but expectations are he will be ready to play Sunday against Denver.
The question now becomes, sure, he's ready to play, but will he? And where?
Veteran corners Leon Hall and Terence Newman have held their own this season and Cincinnati allowed fewer than the NFL average in passing yards per game the past four weeks. Although Peyton Manning arrives with five consecutive games of 300-plus yards, Cincinnati hasn't allowed a 300-yard passer since Brandon Weeden in Week 2.
Defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer relies heavily on his veterans and sounds like a man with no intention of replacing them, especially not against one of the greatest quarterbacks at exploiting mismatches in NFL history.
“One of these days,” Zimmer said Thursday when asked if he's eager to see Kirkpatrick play. “When he keeps proving it in practice every day.”
By all accounts, Kirkpatrick acquitted himself well in practice, but it takes more than a few quality practices to convince Zimmer.
“Things happen,” Zimmer said. “We’ll see. That’s what I told him today. He’ll get his chance. Keep practicing hard and learning what he is supposed to do and how to do it correctly.”
More than likely, Kirkpatrick will be active for the first time in his career and could help significantly on special teams. He excelled as a gunner at Alabama and could spell WR Andrew Hawkins in that role Sunday. Concerns have been growing in recent weeks regarding Hawkins seeing too many snaps between slot receiver and special teams, so Kirkpatrick provides the perfect solution.
“I want to play special teams because that’s what sets the tempo,” Kirkpatrick said. “If I get out there on special teams, I’m going to go 100 percent like I’m out there at corner.”
Kirkpatrick has full confidence in his knee after three weeks of full participation in practice. He's been arriving at 6:30 a.m. most days, attempting to work extra with secondary coach Mark Carrier. There may not be space on the defense for him now, but Kirkpatrick's making sure that won't be for lack of effort.
Regardless of when or where he enters the game, he knows what coaches expect his contribution to be.
“I’m very excited to get a chance to run around, give these guys a lift, bring a little energy to the table that they want me to bring,” he said. “Hopefully, my number's called, but if it's not I'm going to be rooting the team on.”
Follow Paul Dehner Jr. for Bengals updates on Twitter @CBSBengals.
