The Cincinnati Bengals place the former Alabama reliever standout on injured reserve

The Cincinnati Bengals placed kicker Evan McPherson on injured reserve on Wednesday after he suffered a groin injury in Sunday’s 44-38 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The former Fort Payne High School star will miss at least the next four games as a result of this appointment, and the Bengals only have five games left on their regular season schedule.

McPherson said he felt the injury when he hit his second extra point on Sunday. Nevertheless, he threw six kickoffs and scored three extra points and a 38-yard field goal later in the game.

“Adrenaline is an amazing drug,” McPherson said on the Bengals’ official website. “When you get injured like that in a game, you don’t realize how bad it can be.”

McPherson has made 16 of 22 field goal attempts and 37 of 38 extra point throws in 12 games this season. Four of his missed shots came from more than 50 meters away.

After joining Cincinnati as a fifth-round pick from Florida in the 2021 NFL Draft, McPherson made 78 of 93 field goal attempts and 126 of 132 extra point kicks in his first three seasons.

At 24, McPherson has made 16 more field goals of 50 or more yards than any other player in Bengals history, and that doesn’t include his three 50-yarders in the postseason. McPherson set the record for the longest field goal in franchise history when he hit a 59-yarder in a 23-20 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on September 11, 2022.

Last season, McPherson hit all 59 of his shots from 50 yards, making 19 field goals and 40 extra points. In 2023, he hit 7 of 12 on field goal attempts of 50 or more yards.

Before the start of the season McPherson signed a three-year, $16.5 million contract extension.

Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.