The Cincinnati Bengals find themselves at 4-8 on the season and losers of four straight, which have drastically diminished what's left of their playoff hopes. And now they can add a kicking shake-up into the mix of this tumultuous season. On Wednesday, the club announced that it has placed kicker Evan McPherson on injured reserve.
In a corresponding move, the Bengals have signed veteran kicker Cade York to the practice squad, and it appears he will replace McPherson going forward. The team also elevated offensive tackle Andrew Stueber off of the practice squad to the active roster.
McPherson suffered a right groin injury in the team's Week 13 loss at the hands of the Pittsburgh Steelers and will now be sidelined for a minimum of four weeks with five games to go in Cincinnati's season. Through 12 games this season, McPherson has netted 16 of his 22 field goals (72.7%) and has made all but one of his 38 extra-point attempts. The 25-year-old is playing in his fourth season in the NFL -- all with the Bengals -- after Cincinnati drafted him in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft out of Florida.
Meanwhile, York, a fourth-round pick of the Browns in 2022 out of LSU, has bounced around the league, with Cincinnati proving to be his latest stop. Along with Cleveland, York has made stops (of varying lengths) with the Titans, Giants and, more recently, the Washington Commanders. York was released by Washington back in September after missing two field goals in the Week 1 opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
For his career, York has converted 70.6% of his field goal attempts (24 of 34) and 94.9% of his extra points (37 of 39).