Bengals RT La'el Collins provides an update on his recovery
The Cincinnati Bengals acquired La'el Collins last offseason hoping that he'd be the right tackle they'd been searching for. Collins talked himself up big time when he joined the team but was underwhelming for the most part.
In Week 16, Collins tore his ACL and MCL and missed the rest of the season. The former Dallas Cowboy could be a cut candidate this summer but he provided some good news when speaking to the media on Monday.
First sight of La’el Collins here in the #Bengals open locker room: Says “no doubt about it” he’s ahead of schedule from ACL recovery.
— Paul Dehner Jr. (@pauldehnerjr) April 24, 2023
Right now feeling great and, interestingly, feels he will be healthier this year (battled back injury last year).
Real positive talk from LC. pic.twitter.com/jNgccNVsxM
Collins being ahead of schedule could mean Bengals fans see him in the lineup earlier than we anticipated. Normally, ACL injuries take eight to nine months to recover from so with Collins' injury happening in December, there could be a chance that he's available as early as Week 1. That'd be huge for this Bengals team needing all the insurance they can get at right tackle.
La'el Collins' recovery is going well.
Speaking of the right tackle situation, Jonah Williams is the penciled-in starter there as of now but he demanded a trade. Collins talked about Williams and the right tackle position as a whole.
Collins: “It’s not always going to be what you want or whatever the case may be. But at the same time, Jonah is going to be fine. He’s a hell of an NFL player… I got all the confidence in the world in (him)."
— Charlie Goldsmith (@CharlieG__) April 24, 2023
"How good does that sound? A deep O-Line, it doesn’t get better."
Collins has the right attitude heading into what will be his second season in Cincinnati, assuming he's not a cap casualty. He had a "meh" 2022 season but if he's able to contribute in 2023, that's the best-case scenario for both sides.
The Bengals made sure they added help to the o-line again this offseason, signing Orlando Brown Jr. to man left tackle. Right tackle is the only spot that's not shored up but if Collins is healthy, he could absolutely end up being the starter there, especially if Williams ends up with a different team.
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Collins has a chance to prove that he can indeed be the bodyguard that he promised he'd be when he signed with the Bengals.