Cincinnati Bengals No. 1 cornerback Chidobe Awuzie still has his sights on an opening day return.
Awuzie, who suffered a season-ending ACL tear at the end of October, says Week 1 is the plan, provided his body keeps responding well to the rehab regimen.
“Just staying patient. The biggest thing I can mess up on is getting too cocky because my knee is doing well. I haven’t had a setback,” Awuzie said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “Trusting the people telling me what to do. Trusting the process. I think that trust is now building because I’ve made a lot of progress. I’m able to sit back and understand that it’s not the best thing for me to push too, too hard.”
To this point, all had been mum on Awuzie’s rehab path and return date.
The presumed target date is indeed correct and provided everything goes as planned, he’ll be on the field for the opener as the No. 1 across from sophomore Cam Taylor-Britt on the other boundary.
The Bengals lost Eli Apple and Tre Flowers to free agency but signed Sidney Jones, with cornerback still a possibility as early as Round 1, no matter what happens with Awuzie.
