Cincinnati Bengals first-round pick OT Amarius Mims suffered a strained pectoral that will cause him to miss several weeks, head coach Zac Taylor told reporters according to The Athletic’s Paul Dehner Jr. The injury casts doubt on Mims’ availability for Week 1.
“It’s unfortunate that he’ll miss several weeks but expect him to make a full recovery and be ready to roll,” Taylor said in his press conference, clarifying that it’s several weeks from today.
It’s been a bad week to be a first-round rookie in the AFC North. Steelers OT Troy Fautanu suffered an MCL sprain that will keep him out at least one week, while Ravens CB Nate Wiggins suffered a shoulder injury that has him out day to day. Mims’ injury appears to be the most serious, and it comes as the rookie was putting together a strong camp. Mims suffered the injury in the team’s preseason opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
With Mims injured, Trent Brown, who Cincinnati signed this offseason, will likely slot in as the Week 1 starter at right tackle with Orlando Brown Jr. on the left side. The injury shouldn’t affect Mims’ availability for any game against the Steelers, as Cincinnati and Pittsburgh don’t meet until Week 13 and then again in Week 18.
Any time a rookie gets injured it can be a setback in their development. While Mims was raw coming out of Georgia, he’s an athletic freak who had reportedly been one of the standouts of Bengals training camp. The Bengals will hope that he can be available for Week 1, but missing multiple weeks prior to the start of the season could make it tough for him to win the starting job, especially with a veteran in Brown capable of stepping in.
We’ll see how long Mims winds up being sidelined and if he does crack the starting lineup for the Bengals this season. He’s a player who was linked to Pittsburgh frequently throughout the pre-draft process, and it’ll be fun to watch the development of him and Fautanu over the next few years.
