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Geno Atkins and Wife Kristen Announce Birth of Daughter

Geno Atkins and his wife had their daughter last week
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CINCINNATI — Bengals star defensive tackle Geno Atkins missed Sunday's game against the Steelers for a good reason. 

Atkins' wife Kristen gave birth to their daughter, Isla Elise Atkins on Monday, Nov. 9. Isla was born five weeks early. She went home this week. 

"Last Monday we welcomed Isla Elise Atkins into the world 5 weeks early. She has had quite the journey and we are blessed to finally have her home with us," Atkins wrote on Instagram. "It's been a whirlwind of emotions, but my wide is recovering amazingly and I'm so thankful to her for bringing our girl into this world #girldad."

It's great to hear that both Kristen and Isla are both safe and healthy. Isla is their second child. Gene Atkins III was born in Jan. 2019. 

Atkins was with his family, which is why he didn't play last Sunday against the Steelers.

He's expected to be available for Sunday's game against Washington. 

The 32-year-old has appeared in four games for the Bengals this season. He suffered a shoulder injury during warm-ups in the Bengals’ final scrimmage of training camp. He’s been used sparingly since returning to the field in Week 5. 

Atkins is still looking for his first tackle of the season. The Bengals were hoping to pair him with prized free-agent signing DJ Reader, but injuries threw a wrench in their plan.

Reader, 25, suffered a season-ending quad injury on Oct. 11 against Baltimore. Atkins made his season debut earlier that day.

Atkins had played in 96 consecutive regular season games before the start of the 2020 season. The eight-time Pro Bowler has 75.5 career sacks, which is the most ever by an interior lineman in Bengals’ history.

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