La'el Collins' availability for Bengals vs. Jets in question
Cincinnati Bengals starting right tackle La'el Collins did not practice on Wednesday and Thursday and was a limited in practice on Friday, but head coach Zac Taylor says he feels "optimistic" about his availability against the New York Jets on Sunday.
"We're just monitoring him throughout the week and feel optimistic about Sunday," Taylor said on Friday.
If Collins somehow suffers a setback from Friday to Sunday can’t play on Sunday against the New York Jets, look for Hakeem Adeniji to fill in. Adeniji started nine games for the Bengals at guard in 2021.
Collins, 29, has been dealing with a back injury since the beginning of training camp. He reported to camp on the non-football injury list and did not practice until the final week of the preseason. The injury took place away from the team over the summer.
Despite missing most of training camp, the sentiment around the building from head coach Zac Taylor, offensive line coach Frank Pollack and Collins himself was that he would be able to overcome missing time because of his experience. Taylor and the Bengals’ training staff seem to have a treatment plan in place for Collins in how to monitor him throughout the week to ensure he can play on Sunday. His absence from practice on Wednesday and Thursday was due to the treatment he’s seeking and to limit the amount of time he’s standing.
Against the Cowboys in Week 2, Collins was the lowest-graded offensive linemen in pass-blocking situations giving up two hurries, two quarterback hits and one sack. The Bengals have already given up a league-leading 13 sacks on quarterback Joe Burrow.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Zac Taylor 'optimistic' about La'el Collins vs New York Jets
