Marvin Jones suffered a broken foot this past weekend, putting him on the sidelines for not just all of the preseason but also likely until Week 5, after Cincinnati's Week 4 bye. The Bengals had hoped for Jones to start opposite of A.J. Green, but that is an impossibility for the month of September now. Jones could be designated for return off of the injured reserve (something a team can do only once a year), but the question that looms now is what is the impact of Jones' injury on the passing game in Cincinnati.
One of the best things about Footballguys is the unbelievable depth of talent on the staff. Quite often, when somethng big happens in the NFL, a lively discussion starts, and Marvin Jones' injury was one of the more recent hot topics. The Footballguys staff roundtable gives you insight on both the NFL and also a behind-the-scenes look at Footballguys in a very entertaining and informative format. We hope you enjoy.
One of our veteran staff members, Sigmund Bloom, kicks off this roundtable with the staff:
THE MARVIN JONES DISCUSSION
Sigmund Bloom: Heads up to the staff:
ugh. Dr. @jenebramel? RT @JayMorrisonCMG Marvin Jones broke his foot at Saturday's practice. Screw inserted. Will be out for several weeks.
— Sigmund Bloom (@SigmundBloom) August 11, 2014
Kyle Wachtel: Damn... I enjoyed watching people overdraft him. Have read nothing but good things from camp about Sanu.
Matt Harmon: Perhaps this leads to more receptions for Gio Bernard? Remember seeing months ago they might want to use him in the slot.
Sigmund Bloom: My gut feeling is that this opening for Tyler Eifert to become de facto #2 receiver. Sanu foot in the door for dynasty, but Jones is a much better all around receiver than Sanu. Bernard is going to get his 50-60 rec no matter what. Marv Lewis said a "few weeks", but i have to think the "several" of morrison's tweet is more accurate. waiting for the doc (Jene Bramel) to chime in....
I'm guessing IR (injured reserve for Jones), designated to return.
John Norton: Umm... take it from the home town guy, they weren’t over drafting him. This guy is gonna be special. Sanu is a good possession/slot receiver and has performed well. He probably steps up to #2 for now. Tate will likely be the #3 but I would expect Sanu to work from the slot in 3 WR sets. BIG blow for the Bengals... I agree that Eifert will pick up a lot of the slack.
David Dodds: That was my take as well John. Marvin looked very good at times last year and I expected that was going to be the norm this year. This definitely moves things around a bit.
Kyle Wachtel: It wasn't a knock on his talent, but instead opportunity in an offense that was expected to shift more towards run even before his injury combined with TD regression.
Sigmund Bloom: This actually could benefit Green a bit because Jones was hyperefficient in the red zone. Either Green or Eifert seem like the obvious beneficiaries of another TD or three in the wake of this injury.
Matt Harmon: Perhaps they run even more in the red zone. Which would lead to even more Jeremy Hill TDs. I forgot Jermaine Gresham still even existed before today.
Ryan Hester: By the way, I just updated the Cincinnati team page and the associated player pages (Jones, Sanu, Eifert, Green).
Much like Kyle, I was high on Jones' talent but not his fantasy outlook in Hue Jackson's offense. Sanu is just a guy. Eifert could see a target bump in the red zone, even lined up out wide in inside-the-5 situations.
David Dodds: You guys are the best in the business. Less than an hour into this, and a magazine app reader has accurate team and player pages. Just nuts.
(Jeff Pasquino / Editor's note): Yes we are, David... and now we can even share the staff banter via a roundtable in a matter of hours!
John Norton: Understood and I have heard that line of thought from others as well. Everyone keeps talking about the Bengals running “more”. Cincy’s 481 rush attempts were the 8th most in the league last year. They might hit 500 this year but Hue Jackson is not a ground and pound OC. The emphasis has been on quality more so than quantity. They want to run better, not necessarily more. A better running game is not going to detract all that much from the passing game in my opinion. I would certainly not be downgrading the Bengals skill position players very much based on an expectation of significantly less opportunity.
Matt Waldman: Jones has the athletic talent to become a quality red zone option. Sanu flashed this skill as a rookie when he was the guy that most were siding with as "the future complement" to Jones. Injury and Jones' surprising play (to some) took the sheen off Sanu, who has become "just a guy".
Marvin Jones: Broken fifth metatarsal and screw placement usually means Jones fracture. If that's case, 8 wks optimistic, likely 10-12 wks.
— Jene Bramel (@JeneBramel) August 11, 2014
When Bengals say few weeks, it could be 2-3 weeks, could be six months. But think there's enough detail to expect Jones to miss ~12 weeks.
— Jene Bramel (@JeneBramel) August 11, 2014
Looking at similar timeline to guys like Hakeem Nicks, Julio Jones. Hopefully it goes better than Aaron Dobson, who was more in 16wk range.
— Jene Bramel (@JeneBramel) August 11, 2014
Could be 6 wks before cleared to run MT @injuryexpert can't find any comparables to Marvin Jones that have come back in less than six weeks.
— Jene Bramel (@JeneBramel) August 11, 2014
Dr. Robert Anderson, noted foot surgeon does many similar NFL cases. Studies quote some athletes back in ~ 8wks. But most commonly 10-12.
— Jene Bramel (@JeneBramel) August 11, 2014
Positive note on Jones: This is a common injury with established treatment, though never sure thing there's good precedent for full return.
— Jene Bramel (@JeneBramel) August 11, 2014
Bengals have about 3 wks to assess Jones' rehab/recovery before needing to decide whether he can stay on 53 or decide that IR/return better.
— Jene Bramel (@JeneBramel) August 11, 2014
Ari Ingel: Agreed I think while Eifert may get a slight bump, Jones production is not easily replaced. Could hurt the teams game flow. I think peppering Green with more throws is the most likely outcome.
Matt Waldman: Translation: Don't draft Jones and look for signs of his recovery around Weeks 8-10 if you think he might help a team off the waiver wire before the fantasy playoffs.
Scott Bischoff: But if you are a defensive coordinator playing the Bengals, you're giving Green the Calvin Johnson treatment, rolling safeties over and bracketing him. I could see them go a little quicker hitting on offense.
John Norton: I think Tate gets on the field a lot more and may have some value as a 5th WR. He could even get some run in 2 WR sets but I ultimately see him as the 4th or 5th target in the offense at best. Think of him as being in the Andrew Hawkins role from last year.
Jason Wood: I think you treat different tiers differently in cases like this. Marvin Jones isn't a high enough upside guy that you try to look on the bright side here. Let someone else roll the dice.
Jeff Haseley: I tend to side with Jason here. I have Jones in one league that has drafted already. I'm already thinking about who I can add via waivers. I don't see him as a player to hold on to and wait (like people did with Shane Vereen last year). Could he be a decent waiver pick up in week 8-10? Possibly, but he's not a good enough sure thing to keep in redraft leagues. At least not in my opinion.
Matt Waldman: Yeah, don't see how anyone would see him as a hold and wait. He's a waiver wire guy.
Aside from Sanu, Eifert is the guy who should get the biggest bump and I think he has to be considered a TE1 at this point. There are not more than 10 TEs I would take over Eifert.
That's my personal take at least as a Bengals homer.
Jeff Pasquino: And with that, those are all of the two cents from several of the staff here. As Joe loves to say, you'll know when we know. The staff takes pride in discussing issues like these so that we all get a little smarter, and then we all can share it with you.
Questions, suggestions and comments are always welcome to pasquino@footballguys.com.
