Report: Bengals' Dre Kirkpatrick to Miss 'About a Month' with Knee Injury

Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick will likely miss "about a month" after hyperextending his knee, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

Kirkpatrick was carted off the field during Sunday's 23-17 defeat to the Baltimore Ravens.

He has appeared in six games this year, recording 33 combined tackles, one sack and four passes defended.

Injuries have been a persistent issue for Kirkpatrick since the Bengals selected him 17th overall in the 2012 draft. He played a full season just twice through his first seven years, and he's going to miss at least three games if Rapoport's recovery timetable proves accurate.

Losing Kirkpatrick is another blow for Cincinnati, which is one of two winless teams in the NFL. The Bengals ranked 31st in defensive efficiency entering Week 6, per Football Outsiders, and opposing quarterbacks have a 105.1 passer rating, 27th in the league.

Cincinnati is now going to be even more vulnerable against the pass, which in turn puts more pressure on an already-overburdened offense because the defense won't be able to consistently stop anybody. The Bengals are 31st in yards allowed (426.0 per game) and 26th in scoring allowed (26.5 points per game).

Things won't get better with Kirkpatrick unavailable. At this point, the offseason can't come soon enough in The Queen City.