Bengals top rookie Amarius Mims suffers injury that will impact his regular season status

The Cincinnati Bengals just received some unfortunate news regarding rookie offensive tackle Amarius Mims. Bengals head coach Zac Taylor announced that Mims will be sidelined for several weeks after suffering a strained pectoral muscle during the team's preseason opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Mims to be sidelined for several weeks with a pectoral injury

The good news is that the injury won't require surgery, and isn't considered serious, per Taylor. Still though, it's tough news for both the Bengals and Mims, who had been impressive throughout training camp by all accounts. Cincinnati is scheduled to open up the regular season against the New England Patriots on Sept. 8. So, depending on how long it takes Mims to recover, there's a real chance that he could be on the sideline at the start of the season.

Even if Mims is back in time for the start of the season, it seems unlikely that he'll be in a starting spot after being forced to miss the final few weeks of training camp and preseason play. Veteran right tackle Trent Brown is now likely on track to being the season as the team's starter, as long as he can remain healthy himself.

It's way too early to slap the "injury prone" label on Mims, but his durability was a bit of concern coming out of college. He missed time at Georgia with an ankle injury in 2023, and he also dealt with a hamstring injury during the NFL combine. Hopefully, that isn't a trend that will continue into his professional career, although the early returns aren't super promising.

Mims' injury is the latest in a growing list that Cincinnati has suffered in the lead-up to the regular season. Defensive end Cameron Sample has already been ruled out for the entirety of the 2024 season due to a torn Achilles tendon, and wide receiver Charlie Jones was recently carted off of the field after suffering an apparent non-contact injury during drills.

Injuries are unavoidable in football, but it's always tough when they start to stack up, especially before regular season play even gets underway. Hopefully Mims can get back out on the field in short order.