Running back Brian Leonard became the 17th Bengal to go on injured reserve Tuesday with an ankle problem and the club replaced him on the roster with Colts cornerback David Pender when the Bengals claimed him off waivers.
The Bengals are now tied with Detroit for the NFL lead with 17 players on IR, one ahead of the Colts.
The 6-0, 180-pound Pender joined his fourth team since coming out of Purdue this season as a rookie free agent. He was with the Eagles in preseason and was waived on Sept. 5. He was on Baltimore's practice squad from Sept. 8 through Sept. 21, and was signed Nov. 10 to the Indianapolis practice squad. The Colts signed him to their roster Dec. 8 and he played in the last three games, where he made two tackles.
Pender has NFL speed as teams try to develop the rest of his game. He was Georgia's back-to-back AA state high school champion in the 100 meters, long jump, and triple jump. After 51 games and 32 starts at Purdue, he left No. 2 on the school's all-time list with 33 pass breakups.
