Tuesday, November 23, 1999Akili probably finished for year
Bengals won't risk worsening QB's toe injury
BY GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati EnquirerThe Bengals are bracing for the “good possibility,” that rookie quarterback Akili Smith won't take another snap this season because of his severely sprained right big toe.
That's a huge disappointment for a franchise whose efforts to groom its quarterback of the future for the 2000 season have been hampered by a 27-practice holdout in training camp and the toe injury that came in his fourth NFL start.
“We're not going to risk putting him in there until we're totally sure that he's medically prepared to play,” said Bengals President Mike Brown Monday. “There's a good possibility he may not play again this year. We're not going to put him out there unless we're totally confident that he would not make it worse.”
The Bengals were apparently concerned enough about Smith's progress to send him to a specialist last week. Smith has been out of a boot for two weeks, but has been walking with a limp. Although he doesn't need surgery and there are no broken bones, it's a delicate part of the foot.
“It's getting better, but I'm not going to rush planting and stepping and throwing and having the thing hang with me during the offseason,” Smith said. “The specialist said pretty much the same thing. That I might not be back this season. It's up to me, and I'm not going to risk fouling up the offseason. We'll see what happens.”
Smith engineered the Bengals' lone victory of the season in his first start Oct.10, 18-17, in Cleveland, but failed to generate a touchdown in his next three starts and had to leave the 41-10 loss to Jacksonville Oct. 31 when he hurt the toe after getting sacked.
Brown wouldn't say what Smith's lack of playing time will do to next season's quarterback situation. Jeff Blake is a lame-duck starter as a free agent, which means it's probably even more imperative now that the Bengals sign a veteran backup quarterback.
“We wanted him to have more time on the field,” Brown said. “Let's talk about who is the starting quarterback for next year after this year is over.”
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