The NFL has suspended 29-year old DE Antwan Odom for the next 4 weeks due to a violation of the league’s substance abuse policy.  Odom was going to have to miss 2-3 weeks with a knee injury anyhow so the suspension comes at a perfect time for both Odom and the Bengals.  Odom has played in 4 games for the Bengals this year and he has 4 tackles and 1 pass defensed.  In his first two years with the Bengals, Odom played in 18 games in which he had 45 tackles, 4 passes defensed, 11 sacks and 2 forced fumbles.  The Bengals hope the rest will due Odom some good so he can come back as the player he was in 2008 and 2009 for them.

The Bengals have lost starting strong safety Roy Williams for the next 3-4 weeks due to a MCL sprain.  Williams has played in 4 games for the Bengals so far this year and he has 17 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 fumble recovery.  Williams will be replaced in the starting lineup by Chinedum Ndukwe.  Ndukwe has played in 4 games for the Bengals this year and he has 19 tackles, 3 passes defensed and 1 interception.  This will hurt the depth of the Bengals’ secondary but Ndukwe is more than capable of doing a good job.

Rookie WR Jordan Shipley will likely be out a while due to a severe concussion that he suffered last Sunday at the hands of a vicious hit by rookie safety T.J. Ward of the Browns.  This is a shame as Shipley was off to a solid start to his NFL career.  In his first 4 games, Shipley caught 15 passes for 190 yards (12.7 avg) for the Bengals.  Andre Caldwell will replace Shipley until he’s ready to return to action.  Caldwell has played in 3 games for the Bengals so far this year and he has 4 catches for 23 yards (5.8 avg).

The Bengals have placed 28-year old safety Gibril Wilson on the Injured Reserve List with a torn left ACL + MCL.  Wilson played in 16 games for the Dolphins last season and he had 93 tackles, 8 passes defensed and 1 sack.  This will hurt the depth of the Bengals’ secondary but it won’t cripple it as Wilson was down a bit on the depth chart.

The Bengals will be without 26-year old RB Brian Leonard for at least half of the 2010 season due to a Lisfranc injury in his foot suffered during the Hall of Fame Game.  Leonard played in 14 games (1 start) for the Bengals last season and he carried the ball 27 times for 84 yards (3.1 ypc).  He also caught 30 passes for 217 yards (7.2 avg) last season for the Bengals.  Leonard had a knack for making big plays for the Bengals last season so they will miss him.

UPDATE:  (8/12/2010) – The Bengals have updated Leonard’s condition calling it a mid-foot sprain and not a LisFranc injury.  He will likely come back some time early during the regular season.  This is a relief for the Bengals.

The Bengals have lost 24-year old DT Pat Sims for the rest of the year due to a broken right forearm.  Sims played in all 16 games during the regular season for the Bengals and he made 34 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and he had 1/2 a sack.  This really hurts the depth of the defensive line heading into this week’s playoff rematch with the New York Jets.

The Bengals have lost rookie inside linebacker Rey Maualuga for the rest of the season due to a fractured left ankle.  He played really well as a rookie for the Bengals this season.  Maualuga played in 15 games for the Bengals this season and he made 63 tackles, 6 tackles for a loss, forced 3 fumbles, defensed 2 passes and he had 1 sack.  He will be a player the Bengals build the defense around in the future.  Lucky for the Bengals that they still have 26-year old Rashad Jeanty around and he will repalce Maualuga in the starting line-up the rest of the year.  He has played in 14 games for the Bengals this season and he has made 12 tackles.  He has now played in 52 games in his four years with the Bengals and he has made 207 tackles, defensed 5 passes and he has forced 5 fumbles.  The Bengals’ D shouldn’t suffer much with Jeanty in the starting line-up.

The Bengals have placed rookie TE Chase Coffman on the Injured Reserve List with bone spurs.  The Bengals took Coffman in the third round out of Missouri with the thought that he could fill the black hole they have had at TE for a couple of years now.  But, he has been a complete bust so far as he was not active for ONE game in his rookie year.

The Bengals have lost starting DT Domata Peko for a couple of weeks due to a knee scope.  Peko has played in 11 games for the Bengals this season and he has 23 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss and 1 pass defensed.  Losing Peko could hurt the Bengals’ run defense but it’s better to get him healthy for the playoffs than risk his injury getting worse so surgery was the right thing to do.

It’s not known yet how serious Cedric Benson’s hip injury is but he didn’t return to the game Sunday after injuring it.  Benson has been one of the main men in the Bengals’ offense and he is a player that the team can’t afford to lose.  Benson has played in all 9 games for the Bengals this season and he has carried the ball 205 times for 859 yards (4.2 ypc) with 6 TD runs.  He has also caught 10 passes for 66 yards (6.6 avg) this year.  If Benson has to miss some time rookie Bernard Scott will likely move into the starting lineup.  Scott has played in all 9 games for the Bengals so far this season and he has carried the ball 29 times for 95 yards (3.3 ypc) and he has also caught 2 passes for 35 yards (17.5 avg).  If Scott is indeed moved into the starting lineup the Bengals will have to replace him on kickoff returns and that would also hurt the Bengals.  He has returned 7 kickoffs for 261 yards (37.3 avg) so far this season for the Bengals.  The Bengals had better hope that Benson isn’t too seriously injured because they need him big time.