December 30th, 2009 
Eric McMackin 
Posted in 
After fracturing his ankle in Sunday’s division-clinching victory over Kansas City, there was some fleeting hope that LB Rey Maualuga would be able to return to the field at some point in the playoffs. The fracture was considered a pretty straight-forward injury that would not require surgery.
Those hopes have been dashed.
Today the Bengals placed the rookie second round pick on season ending injured reserve. Maualuga finishes with 63 combined tackles, one sack, two passes defensed, and 3 forced fumbles. His intensity and playmaking ability will be missed during the playoff run.
Last year’s starter, Rashad Jeanty, will take his place in the line-up. Jeanty filled in for the final 3 quarters last week, and finished with one tackle. He had 96 tackles and 2 forced fumbles last season as part of the first team defense.
The Bengals promoted TE Darius Hill from the practice squad to take Maualuga’s active roster spot, and signed rookie TE Carson Butler to Hill’s spot. Butler, 22, was an undrafted rookie in 2009 out of Michigan. He signed with Detroit and was one of the final players cut from the Lions roster at the end of the preseason. He was most recently with the 49ers, where he spent a week on their practice squad from 10/28/09 to 11/03/09.
