The Cincinnati Bengals will be without fourth-year running back Chris Evans for the entire 2024 season after the Michigan product suffered a serious knee injury Thursday during practice.
According to NFL insider Jordan Schultz, Evans suffered a torn patella tendon in practice, ending his season before it could even begin.
Evans, a sixth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, was expected to take on a larger role this season after Cincinnati traded Joe Dixon to the Houston Texans and signed veteran Zack Moss in free agency.
In his first three NFL seasons, Evans played in just 34 games, including eight games during the 2023 season. He was a healthy scratch in the final two months of the season after losing his job to rookie Chase Brown.
Across those 34 career games, Evans has 19 carries for 89 yards and 19 receptions for 188 yards and three touchdowns. In three career games against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Evans has five carries for 23 yards and three receptions for 31 yards.
Evans scored his first career touchdown on a 24-yard reception from Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow against the Detroit Lions during the 2021 season and later added a second touchdown that season on another scoring catch.
During the 2022 season, Evans hauled in an 8-yard touchdown pass from Burrow in a win over the Kansas City Chiefs. He opened the 2023 season as the Bengals’ starting kick returner before losing his job to fellow running back Trayveon Williams, finishing the season as a healthy scratch.
With Evans set to miss the rest of the season, Cincinnati will lean on Moss, Brown and Williams as its top three running backs while rookie undrafted free agents Noah Cain and Elijah Collins continue to battle for a potential roster spot.
The Steelers and the Bengals will square off in Weeks 13 and 18.
