The Cincinnati Enquirer reported Sunday that Collins is out for the season with a torn ACL and MCL in his left knee, an injury that occurred in the first quarter of the Bengals’ win at New England when Patriots defensive lineman Davon Godchaux rolled up the back of his leg. After the game, Collins told reporters that preliminary tests indicated no structural damage; however, an MRI reportedly revealed otherwise.
“With L.C., not optimistic that it’s going to turn out well for this season, but we’re still gathering information on that one,” Taylor said in his press conference Tuesday at Paycor Stadium. “Other than that, we came out of the game pretty clean.”
Taylor is optimistic that tight end Hayden Hurst, who was downgraded from questionable to out Friday, will be able to play Monday against the Bills. The long week could make it possible for Sam Hubbard to return as well. Hubbard was no longer wearing a boot Tuesday in the locker room when media was present.
Not having Collins, who signed a three-year deal worth $21 million as a free agent in March, will mark the first change to the offensive line’s starting five this season.
Collins was having the worst season of his career, according to ProFootballFocus.com. While he’s been above average in run blocking, his 57.8 PFF grade ranks 69th of 81 NFL tackles while his pass blocking grade ranks 77th of 80 tackles. Part of those numbers are a reflection of a slow start to the season for Collins, who missed preseason and most of training camp because of a back issue that he was still impacted by early in the season.
“He was doing a nice job for us, giving us a great veteran presence,” Taylor said. “Just the communication over there with Alex (Cappa) and the tight ends, I think he did a really nice job for us.”
Collins absence will be felt on an offensive line that has not allowed more than two sacks in a game since Week 8 at Cleveland. The Bengals added Collins as a key part to the rebuild up front after Joe Burrow was sacked 70 times in 2021. As the group has played more games together, the protection has continued to improve week to week.
Collins, a 2015 first-round draft pick of the Dallas Cowboys, also seemed to have good relationships with his teammates. He gifted the entire team bedazzled silver footballs with the individual player’s number on them for Christmas.
“It’s devastating that that happened,” center Ted Karras said of losing Collins to injury. “That’s part of the game. Guys are gonna have to step up, and LC has been a huge part of this culture, this unit and this offense and I know he’ll be back, but you never want to see that. I’ve done that as well and that’s a tough injury so we’re praying for him, thinking about him and help him out any way we can, and, you know, now we have to have some guys step up.”
Adeniji had some tough moments stepping in as an emergency replacement on Saturday but will now have a full week to prepare. He already had been getting reps with the first team offense on Wednesdays when Collins takes his normal veteran’s day off for extra rest.
Taylor said no roles are set for Monday’s game; however, he has confidence in the players already in the building and their ability to step up in Collins’ absence. National pundits have suggested the Bengals should bring back retired former Bengals offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth, but when asked about if a 41-year-old now working as a broadcaster for Amazon Prime would even be a realistic possibility, Taylor laughed. Whitworth, a second-round pick by the Bengals in 2006, left Cincinnati as a free agent in 2017 and retired after winning the Super Bowl with the L.A. Rams this past February.
“We got good people in the building that we trust,” Taylor said. “I think our scouting department does a great job of always evaluating our options. I always trust them if they bring somebody to you and say, ‘Hey, take a peek.’ We’ll always do that. But again, we’ve got guys that we’ve had in here developing, working in our system, that we’ve got a high degree of trust in that can help us do the things that we need to this year.”
MONDAY’S GAME
Bills at Bengals, 8:30 p.m., ESPN, ABC, 700, 1530, 102.7, 104.7
About the Author