Since the initiation of training camp just a couple weeks ago, the Cincinnati Bengals have been somewhat plagued by injuries. Defensive ends Sam Hubbard and Trey Hendrickson have both been hampered with nagging injuries that head coach Zac Taylor has listed as ‘week to week’ but most notably, the offensive line has struggled to get healthy.
Cincinnati Bengals Right Tackle Position Finally Getting Healthy
One of the Cincinnati front office’s biggest strategies over the offseason has been acquiring an adequate pair of offensive tackles to compete for the right tackle spot. That objective was completed when the team signed offensive tackle Trent Brown from the New England Patriots for a modest $4 million for the 2024 season as well as with the selection of offensive tackle Amarius Mims with the 18th pick in the 2024 NFL Draft.
Mims recently suffered a minor injury that has been chalked up to heat stress earlier in the week but has subsequently returned. Brown, on the other hand, has yet to get any snaps with the team after he missed all of OTAs (optional team activities) and then landed himself on the non-football injury list to start training camp. For a player that has a reputation of poor work ethic leading to slow starts in training camp, this is a worst-case scenario for Cincinnati and their recent acquisition.
That poor start may finally be ending as Brown was finally seen on the practice field on Sunday afternoon. While Brown may not have been healthy enough to actually participate in team activities, he was performing circuit exercises to attempt to acclimate to the intense heat of training camp. After he was finally seen in practice performing athletic movements, there is a presumption that Brown will be ready to be included in offensive line drills at practice on Monday.
Five observations from Day 9 of #Bengals camp:
1. Right tackle Trent Brown was cleared to practice today but spent one more day on the rehab field (tossing a 50-pound bag among other things).
Look for him to be in uniform and taking part in football activities tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/4yo9V2F8ic— Dan Hoard (@Dan_Hoard) August 4, 2024
After he failed to join the offensive line in both OTAs and training camp up until now, it will be interesting to see where Brown fits into the Cincinnati depth chart from the get-go. Brown was brought in to compete with Mims for the right tackle spot but after impressing both his teammates and the coaching staff, it is possible that Mims has already locked that job down for the foreseeable future. While finances don’t dictate everything, Brown’s minimal contract might also come into consideration if the team decides to lock him down as a backup swing tackle for the remainder of the season.
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