‘A Super Serious Deal or Maybe a Week’ – Bengals Punter Brad Robbins Prepared for Either Side of Injury Evaluation

CINCINNATI — Yet another variable has entered the equation in the unusual, unpredictable search for the 2024 Cincinnati Bengals punter.

Brad Robbins was helping the returners field live kickoffs while warming up before practice Tuesday when he felt pain in his right hip. After a brief discussion with trainers, Robbins dejectedly walked off the field and headed back to the stadium for further evaluation.

Rookie Ryan Rehkow Favorite To Win Bengals Job After Robbins Injury

In the locker room after practice had ended, Robbins said it was a hip flexor issue, but uncertainty remains about when — or if — he’ll be able to re-enter his battle with undrafted rookie Ryan Rehkow for the job.

“Right now, we don’t know exactly, just kind of treated it up — a little hip-flexor type deal,” Robbins said. “Just going to deal with it and go day-to-day and see what happens.

“I just know there’s a bigger plan,” he added. “I’m not going to be concerned with stuff that’s out of my control. As far as that goes just trying to be as positive as I can about it and follow the plan and trust our staff to help me out.”

Training camp began with Robbins, who had a rough rookie season as the team’s sixth-round pick last year, battling undrafted college free agent Austin McNamara, the Big 12 record holder for career punting average.

But on the third day of camp, the Bengals turned it into a three-man competition by adding Ryan Rehkow, who originally signed with the Kansas City Chiefs but lost the job in OTAs to Matt Araiza.

It didn’t take long for Rehkow to return it to a two-man race with his booming punts.

The Bengals waived McNamara last Wednesday, and Saturday night in the preseason opener, Rehkow and Robbins went head to head, alternating punts.

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Robbins stumbled on his first attempt, a 37-yarder, before hitting punts of 53 and 60 yards for a 50.0 average, well above his 43.6 average last year, which ranked 31st among 33 qualified punters.

Rehkow, meanwhile, hit punts of 50, 59, and 59 for a 56.0 average. One of his 59-yarders came while he was standing in his own end zone, while another rolled into the opposite end zone, resulting in a 39-yard net.

Ryan Rehkow unleashes a 58 yard punt from his own end zone after another flop by the Browning-led offense.

— Jay Morrison (@ByJayMorrison) August 11, 2024

Expect Rehkow to handle all the punting duties Saturday at Chicago and possibly in the preseason finale against the Indianapolis Colts the following Thursday.

While it might seem frustrating to some to suffer an injury doing something outside of your regular routine, such as “tapping kicks” at 70-80% to help his teammates work on fielding returns and building some muscle memory in the event kicker Evan McPherson ever were to go down, Robbins said that’s actually the encouraging part.

“Punting’s pretty much all quads. There’s not a lot of hips and hip flexor involved in that,” he said. “So it’s just a matter of getting it to where I can be confident in my swing.”

Despite the injury, Robbins had an upbeat demeanor and positive outlook while talking to reporters, drawing on his faith and past tribulations.

“After my freshman year of college … I had back surgery, and the guy who took my spot was an All-American,” he said. “So at that point, I was like, ‘OK, what am I gonna do now?’ But I learned from that, you just have to trust the bigger plan.

“You can’t go worrying about what other people are doing. As soon as you do that, you’ll lose the battle,” he continued. “For me, it’s just taking it day to day and worrying about myself and how I can improve myself and just get back to it as soon as I can.”

When it was pointed out his mood was noticeably different after practice than it was as he walked off the field two hours earlier, Robbins said some time alone in the training room made the difference.

“I was kind of in shock, like ‘Gosh darn. I can’t believe it happened,’” he said. “To me, to have that hour, hour and a half just to be by myself and think about it, the more I gained clarity on how there is a bigger picture and there’s a plan.

“God has a plan for me. That’s what I firmly believe,” he added. “Just being able to follow that path and do whatever I’m guided to do is gonna be good. I’m not gonna be kept down mentally by whether it’s a super serious deal or maybe like a week. Who knows? We’ll see and take it day to day.”