Giovani Bernard (ACL) will avoid Bengals' PUP list for 2017

Cincinnati Bengals running back Giovani Bernard (ACL) will avoid the PUP list to start next season, Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com believes.

What It Means:

Bernard tore his ACL late last year but seems to be on schedule with his recovery. At worst, Hobson thinks Bernard could miss one or two games to start the season. The Bengals still have Jeremy Hill, but they'll need more depth with Bernard on the mend and both backups Rex Burkhead and Cedric Peerman both headed for free agency.

69 running backs topped 50 carries this season, and Bernard's -0.07 Rushing Net Expected Points (NEP) per attempt ranked 49th among them. Among the 32 running backs with 40 targets or more, Bernard's 0.36 Reception NEP per target was 16th.