Bengals WR Marvin Jones to miss 'a few weeks'

According to Geoff Hobson of the team’s official website, Bengals wide receiver Marvin Jones will miss “a few weeks” after breaking a bone in his foot Saturday.

Surgery was performed to put a pin in his fifth metatarsal. It’s similar to the injury that cost Mohamed Sanu the last month of the 2012 season.

Jones emerged as a playmaker last season, catching 51 passes for 712 yards and 10 touchdowns, and paired with A.J. Green for one of the AFC’s top tandems of wideouts.

But now, they’re going to have to work without him for some time, opening the door for Sanu or Dane Sanzenbacher to play a more prominent role.

From our injury expert Russell Manalastas: "Normal fracture recovery timetables are around 4-6, 6-8 weeks. Unfortunately, if this is indeed a Jones fracture, due to the poor blood supply to this region, that timeline will probably be pushed back to 10-12 weeks, with that time frame being optimistic. For example, Aaron Dobson just came back from this same injury almost 4 months (16 weeks) from the surgery. The thing you need to consider most when allowing players to return to high level impact such as running, cutting, etc. is 1) pain with impact, 2) healing of the bone around the screw to prevent the likelihood of another incidence. I don't believe he's worth drafting at this time, but definitely someone to monitor during the season as a potential waiver wire addition."

Ten to 12 weeks would put Jones's return in the Week 8 to Week 11 window. If that's the case, he could end up tagged as "IR/designated to return" meaning that he'd miss at least the first eight weeks. We should know more soon, specifically the nature of the injury. Once we confirm whether it's a Jones fracture, we will have a better idea of when he'll be back.

Update: Albert Breer tweeted, "Bengals' hope right now is to have WR Marvin Jones back after their Week 4 bye. If it happens, he returns to play v. the Patriots on Oct. 5."

This is positive news, but we're only recommending Jones as a late-round pick, at best, if your league does not have an IR slot.