T. Perry, Kilmer out for season

By Mark Curnutte
mcurnutte@enquirer.com

In moves that directly affect the Bengals' efforts to upgrade their woeful special teams, the club this afternoon announced it had placed wide receiver Tab Perry and safety Ethan Kilmer on the season-ending injured reserve list.

Perry and Kilmer were counted on as vital members of the kickoff and punt return and coverage units.

Perry appeared in just two games this season. He was the No. 1 kickoff return man, a dependable cover man and had been elevated to the team's No. 3 wide receiver while Chris Henry served his eight-game NFL suspension.

Perry had one catch for seven yards and had returned seven kickoffs for a 20.7-yard average.

To fill the hole at wide receiver, the Bengals today signed Courtney Roby to a two-year contract. Roby is a third-year NFL player. He was a third-round draft pick by Tennessee in 2005. Over the 2005-06 seasons, he played in 25 games with six starts for the Titans, with 23 receptions for 317 yards and one touchdown. He caught 21 passes for 289 yards with one score as a rookie. He also returned 22 kickoffs for a 22.5-yard average, all as a rookie. He played in all four 2007 preseason games for the Titans and had six catches for 65 yards. He was waived Sept. 1.

Kilmer, as a rookie in 2006, was second with 18 special teams tackle and was a gunner -- a key outside coverage man who runs downfield at the snap -- on the punt coverage unit that was ranked first in the NFL. He suffered a knee injury at the start of training camp. The Bengals kept a spot for him on the 53-man roster and hoped he would be ready by the bye. He wasn't.

In addition, the Bengals returned cornerback Johnathan Joseph to the roster. He had missed the Kansas City game because of a one-game NFL suspension for violating the substance abuse policy.

The Bengals last week had signed second-year safety John Busing to take Joseph's roster spot. Busing played at Kansas City and stays on the active roster, in essence, to replace Kilmer.