Bengals rookie sounds like he's about to get massive jump in playing time

The Cincinnati Bengals have slowly eased rookie defensive lineman Kris Jenkins Jr. back into the sway of things after a minor surgery resulted in him playing with a club on his hand.

But that sounds like it is about to change.

Speaking with reporters after the team’s Week 4 win over the Carolina Panthers, Bengals defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo made it clear that Jenkins is a player on the rise, as captured by The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr.: “He’ll get as many as he can handle.”

Jenkins saw action on 22 snaps against the Panthers and looked good in his brief showing.

The Bengals had counted on Jenkins to be immediate, important rotational depth behind Sheldon Rankins and B.J. Hill even before both veterans went down with hamstring injuries.

Now, with Jenkins ascending in play despite an injury setback of his own, it’s clear he’s about to get a bigger chunk of playing time by the week.

Just in time, too, as the Bengals got other good news about the defensive line coming out of the win in Carolina.