Adam Jones went out injured in 2017, but also in style with nearly 22 yards per punt return.
The oldest Bengal fell victim to injured reserve Saturday when cornerback Adam Jones' season ended with a partially torn groin he received ending the Steelers' first series Monday night with an interception.
That gave Jones, 34, 12 career picks in eight seasons as a Bengal, good enough to put him in the club's all-time top 20. It broke a seven-player logjam with 11 interceptions and he's now one behind Ashley Ambrose and Marvin Cobb.
The move could mean slot corner Darqueze Dennard (knee) can't go Sunday against the Bears. So first-year corner Tony McRae, promoted from the practice squad Saturday, would become the fourth corner.
McRae makes his Bengals debut in an interesting matchup. His old college teammate at North Carolina A&T, Bears rookie running back Tarik Cohen, has become Chicago's biggest weapon as a punt and kick returner. He didn't return kicks at A&T because McCrae did. Before he went undrafted in 2016, the 5-10, 185-pound McRae had four TDs  on kick returns. McRae, who was also on the Bengals practice squad last year for six weeks, had an interception in two pre-season games with the Bengals and after he was released he played five games with the Ravens with one special teams tackle before getting cut and returning here for the last six weeks on the practice squad.