The Cincinnati Bengals have a budding, rather large problem at offensive tackle before the team even plays its second preseason game.
Cincinnati suffered two notable setbacks to the position during joint practices with the Chicago Bears on Thursday.
The most important — in terms of the starting lineup — was Trent Brown suddenly getting replaced and shut down early due to what head coach Zac Taylor later called a lower back issue.
D’Ante Smith leaving the field on a cart with an air cast on one leg was the other.
Just like that, the Bengals are in a terrible spot.
Browns’s availability issues have been a problem over the last few years and he only just returned to practice earlier this same week. Maybe this is a minor flare up or the team being overly cautious, but that he’s getting pulled from a practice already is concerning.
And there’s no fallback plan if Brown is unable to go or, by Week 1, simply ineffective because of a lack of snaps. First-rounder Amarius Mims looked to be on the path to win the starting job, then suffered a pec strain that the team is being super vague about.
Besides Orlando Brown at left tackle, nothing is a given for the team at the tackle spot now. Beyond Smith and Brown’s unknown issues, Cody Ford is only supposed to be an emergency tackle and Jackson Carman was probably the worst player on the field of backups in the first preseason game while drawing four penalties.
Yes, the team also has Devin Cochran and potentially some interesting upside with Jaxson Kirkland, but we’re getting to the point where there’s a red flag at the spot.
This isn’t just about finding guys to actually take snaps at tackle for the rest of the summer so the starters stay fresh. Now, we’re looking at timing issues too, especially at right tackle in front of Joe Burrow, who is attempting to come back from another season-ending injury.
Over the weekend and into next week will be a pretty big barometer for that tackle spot and the consistency of the overall starting line as the injuries continue to mount.
