Nov 5, 2024 10:56 am: Brown will remain the Bengals' starting running back for Thursday's game against the Ravens, though he'll have a new backup in the mix for Week 10 after Cincinnati acquired Khalil Herbert from Chicago on Tuesday, Charlie Goldsmith of The Cincinnati Enquirer reports.
Analysis: Through the Bengals' first eight games of the season, Brown had been working in a timeshare out of the backfield with Zack Moss, but Brown dominated the snaps and touches in the Week 9 win over the Raiders after Moss was ruled out for the contest due to a neck injury. In the 41-24 victory, Brown played 79 percent of the snaps and amassed a career-high 120 yards on the ground while taking on all of the running-back usage (27 carries, five receptions), as reserves Trayveon Williams (seven snaps) and Kendall Milton (five snaps) didn't log any touches. Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reported Tuesday that Moss is slated to miss at least the rest of the regular season due to the injury, but the addition of Herbert -- who has averaged 4.8 yards per carry over 48 career games -- provides more formidable competition for supplementary work behind Brown than Williams or Milton. With Herbert in the fold, Brown shouldn't be expected to handle 100 percent of the backfield usage like he did in Week 9, but Brown still has a fairly clear path to a sizable three-down role.