Though things do sometimes change at the last second, it appears that the Cincinnati Bengals will not have LB Rey Maualuga when they take on the New York Giants. According to Adam Caplan:
“Bengals MLB Rey Maualuga (leg) is not expected to play Monday night against the host Giants, sources told ESPN.”
Maualuga has been missing practices this week, suggesting he wasn’t going to be ready to take the field, even with the extra day. However, the whole thing is a bit confusing since information on a leg injury is somewhat new. According to Katherine Terrell:
“Maualuga was at facility on Tues but didn’t practice. Guenther indicated it wasn’t injury related.”
Jason Marcum of SB Nation followed that information up by noting that:
“Maualuga injured his arm during the team’s Week 8 tie with Washington, but after trainers examined it in the first half, he eventually re-entered and finished the game. This leg injury could be something new he’s dealing with, perhaps even something he suffered in a workout or practice since Week 8. Or, maybe Maualuga suffered the injury vs Washington, but was able to play through it and finish the game before it got worse.”
If he has been hurt for a while, that could somewhat explain how ineffective he’s been. The former college star has seen a serious decline in play in 2016, with Pro Football Focus ranking him as just the 84th best linebacker at his position. That feels even worse when you see that there are only 87 eligible LBs in that category.
