Bengals’ Green leaves practice field on cart
7-time Pro Bowl WR suffers apparent left ankle injury
Near the end of a festive afternoon commemorating the NFL’s centennial season, the Bengals watched A.J. Green get carted off the field with an injury that left the receiver distraught.
“You never want to see that,” quarterback Andy Dalton said. “It’s unfortunate.”
One practice into coach Zac Taylor’s first season, the Bengals saw their most indispensable player crumple on the field. Green ran a deep sideline pattern during a 7-on-7 drill. Cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick bumped him as he knocked away the pass, and Green appeared to land awkwardly on the left foot.
He limped a few steps, crouched, limped a few more and then appeared to grab his mouth guard, flinging it to the ground. He sat down and trainers removed his left sock and examined the foot and ankle. Green was helped to the bench, which he angrily slammed with his hand. He buried his head in his arms as he was taken off the sideline on a cart.
Taylor had no information about the severity of the injury when practice ended, but reports said the team believes Green only suffered a sprained ankle.
“You don’t want to assume anything, but I think that we’ll be OK,” Taylor said, adding, “I don’t know; I shouldn’t speculate on anything.”
The practice was held at Welcome Stadium in Dayton, Ohio, an hour north of Cincinnati, as part of the league’s celebration of its 100th season. A main attraction for the crowd of approximately 7,500 was watching Dalton and Green connect again.
Dalton missed the last five games last season with a torn thumb ligament. Green missed more than half the season with an injured big toe on his right foot that required surgery.
Tate draws 4-game ban: Giants receiver Golden Tate was suspended for four games for using a drug prescribed for fertility planning.
The 10-year veteran, who signed with the Giants in March as a free agent, announced the suspension on Twitter on Saturday. He said he plans to appeal the violation of the league’s policy on PEDs.
Tate practiced Saturday and he can practice throughout training camp. He will not be able to play in the first four regular-season games unless his suspension is overturned. That rarely happens.
The Giants’ receiving corps has been swamped by injuries in the first three days of training camp.
Sterling Shepard, who was supposed to take over as the No. 1 receiver with the trade of Odell Beckham Jr. to the Browns, broke his left thumb in Thursday. Wideout and kickoff returner Corey Coleman tore an ACL in the same workout.
Darius Slayton, the 2019 fifth-round draft choice, missed the first two workouts with a hamstring injury. Brittan Golden suffered a groin injury Friday.
Bosa back at 49ers practice: Defensive end Nick Bosa made it through his first NFL practice without injuring himself Saturday morning at 49ers training camp.
Bosa is coming off a torn bilateral core muscle, an injury which ended his final season at Ohio State. After the 49ers drafted Bosa with the second pick in April’s draft, he pulled his hamstring during the first practice of the offseason while participating in a one-on-one pass-rush drill. He missed the rest of OTAs and minicamp.
Bosa is the younger brother of Chargers defensive end Joey Bosa.
Extra points: The Cardinals released DL Robert Nkemdiche after the former first-round draft pick showed up to training camp out of shape. Nkemdiche, 24, was selected 29th overall in 2016 and appeared in 27 games over three injuryplagued seasons. He was arrested in June for speeding and driving with a suspended license . ... The Lions released RB Theo Riddick, a pass-catching specialist, after six seasons. ESPN reported that eight teams already have expressed interest in Riddick, 28, who first will visit the Saints.