The Cincinnati Bengals offense got some bad news Monday, as head coach Zac Taylor announced that first-round pick Amarius Mims suffered a strained pectoral muscle and will be out for several weeks. That timeline puts his status for the regular-season opener against the New England Patriots in jeopardy.
Mims played in Cincinnati's first preseason game on Saturday, taking 16 snaps at right tackle. On 10 pass-blocking snaps, he did not allow a pressure, according to Pro Football Focus.
Mims was not necessarily expected to start early in the season, as the Bengals have Orlando Brown Jr. locked in at left tackle and signed Trent Brown earlier this offseason. Trent Brown, who was activated off the non-football injury list last week, is in line to start on the right side, while Mims tries to get up to speed and eventually take over the job in the long term.
Cincinnati selected Mims with the No. 18 overall pick out of Georgia with the expectation that he would eventually bookend the line along with Orlando Brown.
Mims, 21, played only 801 snaps in college, according to PFF, and it should take him some time to acclimate himself to the NFL level. An early injury during his first training camp could set that process back, but if he can get back healthy early in the year, he could have a shot to take over the starting slot by the back half of the season. If not, it might take until 2025.
