CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bengals’ day started with Zac Taylor’s surprise bombshell that Amarius Mims, the first-round pick and camp star to this point, strained his pec and would be out for several weeks.
It concluded with offensive line coach Frank Pollack offering strong opinions about nearly every member of his room suddenly brimming with opportunity from 10-year vets to undrafted free agents.
For all the continuity of the returning four starters, Orlando Brown Jr., Cordell Volson, Ted Karras and Alex Cappa, there’s now a Kentucky Derby’s worth of jockeying for the rights to protect Joe Burrow at every position.
“Big time,” Pollack said. “We let them kind of groove a position for the first couple of weeks and get in the first preseason game, and now way more moving around with positions. We’re gonna play these next two weeks and practice against the opponent. It’s going to be outstanding work for us. I’m looking forward to seeing these guys compete at a couple different positions to show their flexibility. They’ve got to have it.”
Pollack and the Bengals got to have it, too. There’s minimal proven depth behind the starters and nobody expects another season where all five starters stay healthy throughout the year.
The news of the day with Mims immediately shifted the attention to Trent Brown, the 10-year veteran who signed in March but took part in team drills on Monday for the first time since joining the club.
Brown voiced little concern last week about being ready for the opener despite all the time he’s missed and having minimal work alongside the starting group.
“This is Year 10 for me,” Brown said. “I’ve got a lot of reps under my belt already. I think I kind of know how the game is played and how it needs to be played.”
OT Amarius Mims sustained a strained pec and will miss several weeks, according to Zac Taylor.
Disappointing to hear and that will definitely put him being ready at the start of the season in jeopardy.
— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) August 12, 2024
Pollack targeted Brown in free agency and, in witnessing his first run with the first team Monday, clearly was energized to praise the man assuming Mims’ spot.
“He is sudden,” Pollack said. “He closes the space on the defender and takes all of the air out. He’s right on them. It’s incredible. And he plays with length and mirrors the guy with length … he’s the epitome of a dancing bear, it’s ridiculous. This guy is amazing.”
Taylor wouldn’t take Mims returning by the opener off the table, but at the very least, such a return is in serious jeopardy. He’ll miss critical reps against starting pass rushers over the next few weeks and needs to ensure he can get back to 100 percent. Meanwhile, Brown needs to get himself into football shape.
“What do we have a month before the opener?” Pollack said. “He’ll be ready then. He’s not ready tomorrow. He’s got a whole month, and he looked pretty f——- good today for his first day in team.”
Cody Ford has been the other constant behind the starters. He was the first off the bench at guard and tackle last season and shifted to take snaps at offensive tackle for the first time this camp during Monday’s practice. Ford played 684 snaps at tackle as a rookie in 2019, but sparingly has been used there since. There’s history there, but Taylor wasn’t counting on Ford as a primary option.
“He’s got that flexibility for us,” Taylor said. “Right now he’s more inside at guard for us, but with injuries, you never know. I don’t want to take that off the table, but right now his focus is at guard, and we know he’s got that more so emergency tackle flex if needed.”
They also know he’s a lock for the roster. Nobody else can say that.
Certainly, not 2021 second-round pick Jackson Carman, who posted a brutal debut to his fourth season in Saturday’s loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was penalized four times (three accepted) and allowed a quarterback hit on Logan Woodside.
“He’s got some stuff he’s working through,” Pollack said. “You don’t want any penalties and you got to clean up your technique. You can’t play streetball. You can’t play tall, you can’t play straight-legged, you can’t hug guys, you can’t flip open, you have to understand as far as posture and demeanor and play with length and move your feet. Those are things he’s working on.”
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Now counting $2.3 million against the cap, he could be working on them elsewhere if things don’t change dramatically.
That’s all part of the Bengals trying out 2023 undrafted free agent Jaxson Kirkland at tackle. He’s been playing backup guard, but if he latches on, it could be from showing versatility to serving as the fourth tackle instead of Carman.
He played the position in college but hasn’t done it much with the Bengals. Pollack sees it as a possibility.
“He’s had a great camp,” Pollack said. “He’s an offensive lineman. He’s got to hone some of his technique and (be) a little bit quicker with his hands at guard, counter moves and all that kind of stuff with his feet. But he’s working on that stuff and he’s doing really well. He don’t take s— from anybody. That’s how you’ve got to be.”
D’Ante Smith, a 2021 fourth-round pick yet to start a game, is also around as an option battling a knee injury. He returned to working in individual drills on Monday and will be in the mix this week as the team travels to Chicago for a joint practice and Saturday’s game.
“Looked damn good,” Pollack said. “He’s progressing nice.”
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Due to the Mims injury, all of these options are now under the microscope and will be critical points of emphasis over the next two weeks.
Of course, there’s always the chance Mims returns to pick up where he left off, making everyone believe he could not only start on opening day, but was expected to do so.
“He’s done everything he can to put himself in position to be a great player for us immediately,” Taylor said. “This is just an extremely minor setback, short-term wise, and expect to make a great recovery. It really remains to be seen how quickly he’ll get back. I don’t want to put my foot in my mouth and give you all a timeline, because that’s an impossible situation to be in, but optimistic we’ll get him back in several weeks.”
Exactly when is anybody’s guess. The same as just about everything else beyond the starters up front.
“There’s still a lot of competition in the latter half of that O-line room, and it can shake out a lot of different ways,” Taylor said. “There’s no set number on how many we would have to carry on the 53. Practice squad obviously allows flexibility with that, but I think there’s a lot of open-mindedness that could occur with that group that’s battling.”
(Photo: Dylan Buell / Getty Images)
