Bengals first-round pick out several weeks with chest injury

Mims started the loss to Tampa Bay on Saturday and played two series, but Taylor said he complained of some discomfort after the game and scans revealed a strain that will not require surgery.

“It’s unfortunate that he’ll miss several weeks, but expect him to make a full recovery and be ready to roll,” Taylor said Monday.

Asked if Mims could miss time during the regular season, Taylor clarified the clock on his recovery begins now and coyly shared the definition of several as “an indefinite number that’s more than two and fewer than many.”

Taylor said he would not yet rule out that Mims could still start Week 1.

“I wouldn’t take anything off the table,” Taylor said. “I think he’s had a really good training camp. Obviously it’s tough that he’s not going to get some opportunities, it’s unlikely he’ll play against Chicago and Indy obviously, was looking forward to that. But the guy has addressed everything that we’ve thrown at him head on and done a great job. He’s still got the same energetic personality. This didn’t set him back at all. Excited to see how he responds to this when he gets healthy and gets back on the field.”

Taylor said “coincidentally” Brown is expected to work back into team drills Monday, but “that was always part of the plan.” Brown will be getting the snaps with the first team offense.

The Bengals head to Chicago this week for a joint practice Thursday with the Bears ahead of their preseason game Saturday at Soldier Field. Taylor did not share who would be starting at right tackle in those situations with Brown just getting back into the mix Monday.

Mims had been looking forward to getting as many reps as possible before the start of the season, as he was expected to compete with Brown for the starting job. He only started eight games at Georgia and was taking advantage of all the first-team work he could get.

“If I’m blessed to get more reps from coach, then I’m gonna take all the reps I can get,” Mims said after the game Saturday. “Like I said, I’ll say I don’t have as much experience as like I said, other guys in a college setting coming into the league. But, you know, like I said, when my number gets called to be out there, I’m be glad to be out there.”

Taylor said there were things Mims, like everyone else, could clean up with his performance Saturday, but he thought Mims showed good “composure” and was off to a nice start.

“We’ve been in situations where we’ve had a lot worse news than this,” Taylor said. “He’s done everything he can to put himself in a position to be a great player for us immediately, and this is just an extremely minor setback, short-term wise, and expect him to get a great recovery, and it really remains to be seen how quickly he will 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 will get him back in several weeks.”

Outside of Mims, Trent Brown and Orlando Brown, there isn’t a clear fourth offensive tackle ready to step in. Jackson Carman has struggled in previous opportunities to play a role, and he didn’t help his case Saturday when he was flagged for four penalties, including three holding calls and a false start. Devin Cochran also played tackle on Saturday, and normally D’Ante Smith, who was having a decent camp, would have been in there but he is working back from an injury.

Cody Ford has been working inside at guard and is considered an “emergency flex tackle,” Taylor said.

“I think there’s competition there,” Taylor said when asked about the back of the offensive line room. “I also think you look at, and we went through this today, there was essentially five straight three-and-outs with the second group, which is probably why we’re asking this question, but it was all 11 guys on the field played a part in that. So, there were tough runs that there was more to have there, where other guys were involved, not just the offensive line. So, I think that was our point of emphasis is we’ve just got to be better at a lot of things.

“But … I think 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. 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.”