Geno Atkins may not be ready for 2014 season

The Cincinnati Bengals are looking to try and improve for yet another season on a first round playoff exit and that has them looking at this offseason as one in which they need to get healthy and get stocked up on talent. They’ve already gone out and added pieces in the draft, so the next step is to get healthy — something a lot easier said than done.

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According to ESPN.com’s Coley Harvey, the Bengals nose tackle may not be ready for the start of the season, although it’s anyone’s guess as to where he’ll be at later in the summer.

"For now, Still (or Brandon Thompson; can’t forget him) figures to be the nose tackle who would see a lot of action if Atkins isn’t fully cleared from his ACL tear by the start of the season. Cincinnati has been hopeful about getting Atkins back to full health by September. Will he be there? At this point, it’s anyone’s guess."

Atkins is a huge piece of the Bengals defense and they need him to be healthy if they want any hopes of improving themselves. But while he is a big cog in their defensive line, the Bengals managed to get back into the postseason without him. They didn’t get much farther than they did in years past though and that may have a lot to do with Atkins missing in the middle of the line.

Either way, Atkins needs to get healthy for the Bengals because if he’s not then his giant contract he signed last year wil become even more of a burden and a tease as to what Cincinnati is missing.