Cincinnati Bengals right tackle La’el Collins suffered an injury during Saturday’s opening quarter against the New England Patriots and left the field with trainers.
The initial injury looked very, very bad as a defender came off a block and rolled on Collins from behind, to the point Patriots defenders were the first players waving at the sidelines for help.
Collins did end up walking off the field with trainers, but used a cart to leave from the sideline. It’s a troubling concern for a veteran who has battled back injuries since training camp.
Entering Saturday, Cincinnati’s starting five along the line led the league in snaps played together, which explained the massive turnaround for the unit.
With Collins out, duties at right tackle go to Hakeem Adeniji. We’ll update when more news on Collins comes out.
Update: The Bengals quickly ruled Collins out for the game.
Update 2: A stunning turn of events, per the Cincinnati Enquirer’s Kelsey Conway:
Significant injury news for the Bengals: La'el Collins' ACL is still intact. Collins passed the initial ACL test done by the medical staff, a source tells me
He will undergo an MRI tomorrow to see what the injury diagnosis is, but initial test shows ACL is OK. #Bengals
— Kelsey Conway (@KelseyLConway) December 24, 2022
