Bengals News: La'el Collins released, Myles Murphy debut, and more
- La'el Collins is a free agent
- How did Myles Murphy look in his debut?
- Was the rain to blame for Joe Burrow's bad game?
In Bengals news, La'el Collins was released on Tuesday. Also, how did rookie first-round pick Myles Murphy fare in his NFL debut?
The Cincinnati Bengals signed Collins last offseason to help bolster their offensive line. He talked a big game after signing with the Stripes and didn't live up to it. He was injured late in the regular season and missed the final few games, including the playoff run.
This came at a bit of a perplexing time but more than likely, the Bengals parted ways with the veteran offensive tackle to save cap space. He also wasn't starting after the Bengals signed Orlando Brown Jr. to play left tackle and kicked Jonah Williams over to right tackle, which was Collins' old spot. He'd have served as a nice backup option but alas, now he'll hit free agency.
I think there were enough reasons.
— Goodberry (@JoeGoodberry) September 12, 2023
They felt the cap space was valuable.
La'el Collins played very poorly last year before injury.
Current Health was still a question. https://t.co/DGREGMbuGX
Rookie Myles Murphy made his NFL debut on Sunday, appearing in 18% of defensive snaps and 13% of special teams snaps. We didn't hear much from Murphy in his Bengals debut but it was only his first regular-season game in the league.
Check out what's trending in Bengals news.
Bengals release Collins from physically unable to perform list [Ben Baby, ESPN]
"The seven-year veteran signed with the Bengals in the 2022 offseason and started 15 games at right tackle. With the move, the Bengals will gain $7.7 million in cap savings while incurring $1.7 million in dead money in 2024."
- Ben Baby
Grading all 31 first-round picks after Week 1 of the 2023 NFL season [Dalton Wasserman, PFF]
Per Wasserman, Murphy played just 13 snaps in his NFL debut.
"Murphy had a quiet day with an empty stat line on 13 snaps. He didn’t do anything particularly wrong. He just wasn’t in prime situations to make plays. Edge snaps will be hard to come by for Murphy, barring an injury to Trey Hendrickson or Sam Hubbard, but he will continue to work in the rotation."
- Dalton Wasserman
Next. AFC North HCs Ranked. AFC North HCs Ranked. dark
What’s Real and What’s Not From Week 1 of the 2023 NFL Season? [Steven Ruiz, The Ringer]
In his article, Ruiz asks: "Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals passing game can’t handle a little rain?"
"The rain offers up a convenient explanation for Burrow’s poor play. As does his track record of starting the season slow. But I think we’re all ignoring the most obvious answer here: the calf injury that kept Burrow out of most of the preseason. There were some significant differences between the way the Bengals called their plays during the game against the Browns on Sunday and how they operated last season. "
- Steven Ruiz