Cincinnati Bengals star rookie Amarius Mims has a golden opportunity at the onset of training camp that he absolutely needs to take advantage of.
A major opportunity for Amarius Mims
Before camp officially got underway, the Bengals announced that veteran offensive tackle Trent Brown was placed on the Active/Non-Football Injury list. This means that Mims is likely to get the first team reps at right tackle at the start of camp.
Brown, 31, signed a one-year deal with the Bengals in free agency. Then, the Bengals selected Mims in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft, and it became clear that Brown was a placeholder of sorts. Mims is the future of the right tackle position in Cincinnati, and as soon as he shows that he's ready to take over a starting spot, he likely will. If he begins training camp as the starter, there's a chance that he'll never relinquish the role.
Even if he does get bumped back down to second string upon Brown's return, getting some experience with the starting unit will be beneficial for Mims, who is somewhat raw and inexperienced after starting just eight games throughout his collegiate career.
This situation could have become very interesting if Mims was still unsigned, but luckily he put pen to paper earlier this week, becoming the last rookie from the 2024 class to do so. Now he can focus on football.
According to ESPN, Mims signed a four-year, fully guaranteed contract worth $15.37 million. The deal also includes a $7.99 million signing bonus and a fifth-year team option. So, that means that Mims' contract is fully guaranteed through the 2027 season, and the team could chose to extend it through the '28 campaign.
It will be interesting to see if Mims is able to take advantage of the opportunity that Brown's early absence affords. If he can, perhaps he'll grab the starting spot at right tackle and never look back.