Key Piece of Cincinnati Bengals Offense Suffers Injury vs Chicago Bears

CINCINNATI — Bengals running back Samaje Perine suffered a right ankle injury in the second quarter of Sunday's game against the Bears and won't return.

Perine suffered the injury on a kickoff return. He spent a few seconds on the ground, clearly in pain, but popped up and jogged off the field under his own power.

The veteran spent some time getting his foot and ankle taped on the bench, but never returned to the game. Perine had one carry for five yards on Sunday.

Perine had his best game of the season in Week 8, running for 91 yards on nine attempts, including a 32-yard touchdown. He earned major praise from head coach Zac Taylor.

“He's just the same guy every day for years now," Taylor said. "Very reliable, hard to bring down, durable back, understands where you're fitting the ball. Does a great job in protection, has a great knack for the check downs. So again, just the combination of him and Chase (Brown) back there gives you a lot of confidence in your backfield. And Tahj (Brooks) is really coming along too. So it's a really good room. Justin’s (Hill) done a great job with those guys. Samaje just, again, he's the vet in the room that just does it exactly how you expect him to do. Not that the other guys don't, they do a great job as well. But Samaje has just done it for a long time."

If Perine doesn't return, rookie running back Tahj Brooks will serve as the backup behind Chase Brown. Brown has 23 yards on five rushing attempts so far against the Bears.

It looked like Samaje Perine suffered serious injury on a kickoff return…

Turns out he’s super human. Perine popped up and ran off the field. He’s being tended to by trainers on the sideline. They’re looking at his right foot/ankle. pic.twitter.com/FpWl5pbdUt
— James Rapien (@JamesRapien) November 2, 2025

Other Injuries

Perine isn't the only player the Bengals are without on Sunday. Trey Hendrickson is dealing with a hip injury and isn't active. Logan Wilson is also out due to a calf injury.

The Bengals are hoping to improve to 4-5 on the season.

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