The Cincinnati Bengals will reportedly be without starting offensive lineman La’el Collins for the rest of the season due to a torn ACL and torn MCL. He suffered the injury in the team’s 22-18 win over the New England Patriots in Week Sixteen. The revamped Bengals offensive line has looked impressive to close the season, but this injury will hurt the team moving forward. Collins originally passed his ACL exam on the field, but later had the extent of the injury revealed in an MRI. Cincinnati will have to find a suitable replacement in the starting lineup either on their roster or from a thin free-agency pool.
After passing the initial ACL on field exam yesterday, #Bengals starting RT La’el Collins underwent an MRI today and it revealed he tore his ACL and MCL.
His season is over, recovery is expected to be 7 months, a source tells me. @Enquirer
— Kelsey Conway (@KelseyLConway) December 25, 2022
The Cincinnati Bengals have an outside shot at the number one overall seed with two games left in the regular season. Losing La’el Collins for the season will hurt the protection of quarterback Joe Burrow and running back Joe Mixon. The Cincinnati Bengals are currently the three seed in the AFC with an 11-4 record behind the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Cheifs who are both 12-3. The Baltimore Ravens are right behind the Bengals in the AFC North with a 10-5 record. Cincinnati closes the season at home against the Buffalo Bills and the Baltimore Ravens.
