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USATSI

Things just went from bad to much worse for Trae Waynes. The veteran cornerback joined the Cincinnati Bengals in March on a three-year, $42 million contract, but couldn't sign it immediately due to how the team handled its new additions. To put it plainly, the club refused to finalize deals with players like Waynes passing an official team physical, as opposed to one from a third-party, and that led to frustrations as Waynes could not access his $15 million signing bonus until things got ironed out to open up training camp. The team didn't get much time to see what he could do in camp though, because the 28-year-old suffered a pectoral injury at the outset, but sought a second opinion to determine the gravity of it.

He now has that opinion in hand, and it's not what he was hoping for. Initially slated to miss upwards of two months, it was reportedly discovered Waynes tore his pectoral muscle -- per Ian Rapoport of NFL Network -- and will miss a sizable portion of the coming 2020 season. The silver lining is Waynes will have a shot to return before the season concludes, but there's currently no return date to mark on the calendar, meaning it's equally possible he may not.

It will all depend upon how quickly he heals and rehabs from what is a significant injury. 

Waynes' agent, Brian Murphy, voiced displeasure with the Bengals decision to hold off on finalizing the deal, and warned the club Waynes would avoid strenuous training or football drills until the contract was done -- to prevent potential injury beforehand. For his part, Waynes shared in the agitation, making it known weeks ahead of training camp. 

"That sh–'s terrible. It's still going on for me," Waynes said, via Pro Football Talk. "I signed here, but I ain't really sign here. It was cool at first and I'm thinking it'll be done and over with. Ninety percent of the league, it's done for them. I know Cincy and a couple of other teams, they still ain't pay nobody or let them take their physicals, so it's technically still going on. 

"... How am I supposed to make myself better, without being able to push myself the way I want to push myself to have success? For me, the free agent thing, it was cool, I was excited for it, but it's been a f–-ing headache since it really started."

It's unknown if Waynes' decision to not train helped lead to the torn pec he's now suffered, or if training would've created an injury before camp ever began, but speculating in one direction or the other is moot. What matters is a key piece of the rebuilt Bengals secondary will now be sidelined to begin the season, and potentially all of it, as he works desperately to try and keep the latter from becoming a reality. 

The Bengals won't have much time to figure out who takes his seat, and to ramp them up before the season opener.