The Cincinnati Bengals have had arguably one of the weaker offensive lines in the league over the past few seasons. Most notably, poor offensive line play essentially cost the team a Super Bowl victory in 2022 when quarterback Joe Burrow was leveled before he could throw a game-winning touchdown pass. Since then, the front office has put in substantial effort into replacing the weak link every single season.
Cincinnati Bengals’ Dismissal of Former First-Round Pick
This offseason, that weak link happened to be 2019 first-round draft selection Jonah Williams. The Alabama product had appeared poised to grow into an anchor on the left side of the line of scrimmage during his rookie season but since then, Williams has developed into a massive liability. That decision led to the team letting him walk during the 2024 free-agency window.
While letting Williams walk was a relatively easy decision after the struggling pass protector demanded top-end money, the effort to replace him turned into one of the largest struggles of the offseason. Ultimately, the team went with two options: the frugal addition of former New England Patriots offensive tackle Trent Brown during training camp and the selection of former University of Georgia standout Amarius Mims with the 18th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. Rather than grant an heir apparent to Williams, the team astutely created a position battle between two excellent candidates.
The Emergence of a Superstar
Even though a competitive position battle was expected to start during OTAs (optional team activities) and training camp, Brown has been conspicuously absent. While his absence during OTAs related to a family illness can be excused, the former Super Bowl champion has missed the first two weeks of training camp due to “tightness” landing him a designation on the ‘non-football injury list’.
During Brown’s absence, Mims has built solid chemistry with the rest of the offensive line. On top of blossoming kinship in one of the most tight-knit position groups in sports, Mims has also drawn universal praise from his teammates, the coaching staff, and the media as a whole. After the way Mims has performed throughout preseason activities including both on-field activities and work ethic, he has certainly earned the starting job over the absentee Brown.
Drama Brewing at the Right Tackle Position
That brings us to this week: on Monday, Brown was finally cleared for practice. On the same day, the team released the first draft of the depth chart. Even though Brown had only played in one practice where he certainly didn’t draw any praise or acclaim, the team has listed him as the starting right tackle. After Mims put in the work throughout training camp, it certainly would send the right message to the team to at least make the former Patriots star earn his starting job back from the youngster.
After his first practice, Brown would go on to have an interview in the locker room where he appeared fairly cavalier about the significance of practice reps given his reputation:
“I’ve got to get some reps under my belt and work with the guys around me,” Brown said, per Bengals.com reporter Geoff Hobson. “I’ve got a lot of reps under my belt already. It’ll be fine as long as I get the terminology down. Just like riding a horse or riding a bike.”
Hmmmm….
— Bengalorian (@thebengalorian) August 6, 2024
While Brown may have a solid reputation as an offensive tackle, a consistent accusation against him throughout his career has been his work ethic heading into the season. Regardless of how well he has played during his 11-year career, a 31-year-old offensive tackle with an injury history certainly needs to prove that he still has the juice left in the tank to play at a high level.
Cincinnati Bengals Head Coach Comes to Brown’s Defense
After the interview certainly left a poor impression both on the media and the fans, head coach Zac Taylor clearly felt he needed to step in on behalf of his recent veteran acquisition:
“I’ve got enough game tape to know what type of player he is,” Taylor said to Hobson. “If he doesn’t end up playing in a preseason game, that’s not the end of the world for me. It’s too early to say all that stuff.”
After Mims put in some outstanding work during training camp, this is certainly a questionable decision by the head coach. Brown may deserve the starting job at the right tackle position but until he actually shows up and plays at a high level, the job should go to the player who has looked solid during training camp and has already built camaraderie with his teammates. After all, Brown has yet to join his teammates on the practice field and hasn’t played with any of his fellow linemen aside from center Ted Karras during several years together in New England.
As of this moment, there is no additional concern amongst the players in the locker room but after seeing similar situations unfold poorly before, this could turn sour for Brown if he doesn’t instantaneously play at a high level during the season. It is possible that fans could be calling for Mims to enter the game far sooner than expected given the veteran’s lackadaisical approach to training camp.
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