The Cincinnati Bengals are coming off of two straight playoff appearances and losses to the Houston Texans and this season the team is hoping to keep improving to win a playoff game and one of the biggest factors will be the secondary with Leon Hall and Dre Kirkpatrick.

According to Pro Football Talk, both players will be missing out on OTA workouts this offseason as Hall is going to be out for some of the time after tearing a ligament in his thumb lifting weights. Last year he missed camp while coming back from an Achilles injury and now he will miss time for the second year in a row, but he is expected to return before the OTAs officially end. Hall is a veteran and shouldn't miss out on much, but Marvin Lewis likes having as many players as he can at camp.

The report says that Hall is expected to be back at the mandatory minicamp next month and that his injury should only be a short term issue and not something that lingers. The team is also dealing with Kirkpatrick, who dealt with injuries in 2012 and is still coming back from knee surgery in the offseason. Kirkpatrick got the surgery hoping that he will be healthy for the upcoming season and the duo has proven to be one of the most talented in the league.

The Bengals ranked seventh in passing yards allowed per game last season and the team will be looking to improve on offense as they drafted Tyler Eifert at tight end with their first round pick.