James Walker, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Patience tested for Bengals' Dre Kirkpatrick

CINCINNATI -- As a former first-round pick, the wait to enter the Cincinnati Bengals' starting cornerback rotation has been long and, at times, frustrating for Dre Kirkpatrick.

 He certainly didn't believe when he was drafted that by the middle of his third season that he still would be fighting to climb the defensive depth chart. By this point, he thought he would be fending off challengers who were competing to take playing time from him.

"Coach [Marvin Lewis] knows I'm ready. I work hard every day," Kirkpatrick said. "It's a mental thing when it comes to that. Sitting back, just preparing. Trying to be ready for the game. Coach knows I'm ready. I'm ready. I just have to continue to be patient. Hopefully when my time comes I go out there and do what I have to do."

But the fact is, he probably wasn't going to see much action the first few years of his career. Veterans Terence Newman, Leon Hall and Adam Jones played well the past two seasons, despite occasional injuries. Hamstring and knee problems briefly sidelined Newman and Jones last year, while Hall only played the first half of the season because of a torn Achilles.

Those injuries caused Kirkpatrick's playing time to increase last season, but this year he hasn't had much reason to play. The vets are all healthy and playing some of their best ball. At 36, Newman appears in a career renaissance. Jones' pesky play has prevented most receivers from burning him deep. Only Steve Smith has that honor, getting past on a go route in the season opener.

How can a benched Kirkpatrick keep his wits? By continuing to soak up information from his older peers and to execute when he does play.

"I just continue to learn from those guys," Kirkpatrick said. "It's always going to be frustrating when you want to play. I've never really had to just sit. But it's a respect thing, also. Those guys are very good at what they do. Hopefully, I can be here 10 years, 12 years and a younger guy may be saying that about me."

Kirkpatrick has appeared on defense in all but two games. He received his most action in the Week 3 blowout over the Titans when he was on the field for 12 plays. Last week against Baltimore, he relieved Newman for three plays, even helping on a third-quarter pass defense. In all, he has five tackles on defense.

Where Kirkpatrick has made his biggest impact is on special teams. As one of two first-round picks at gunner -- fellow cornerback Darqueze Dennard plays opposite Kirkpatrick -- he's been a key part of punter Kevin Huber's strong season. Kirkpatrick has four special teams tackles this season and routinely has been the first Bengal downfield at the end of Huber's punts. As a result of getting down so quickly, Kirkpatrick has both corralled returners almost immediately and downed several punts deep in opposing territory.

Across two games, Huber had consecutive punts downed at the opposing 4-, 1- and 2-yard lines. Against Tennessee alone, he had three stop inside the 10. Kirkpatrick downed one and Dennard had a tackle on another.

"Coming up in college, it's all about a role," Kirkpatrick said. "Here, you're learning that you can make game-changing plays with little adjustments. That's one of the things that [the veteran corners] are very good at, and one of the things I'm learning and Darqueze is going to learn.

"I'm in a room full of smart guys and you can learn a lot from them."

For now, that's all Kirkpatrick can do: keep learning and keep waiting.

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