In the wake of the Orlando Brown Jr. injury, Cincinnati Bengals fans could have been forgiven for thinking the team would make a notable move to reinforce the offensive tackle spot in front of Joe Burrow.
But when it came time to make a roster move, the Bengals merely signed Andrew Coker to the practice squad, waiving defensive tackle Domenique Davis to make room.
Coker, a rookie out of TCU, gives the Bengals some collegiate experience as depth, considering he was a four-year starter.
But this isn’t about Coker. It’s about the team essentially entrusting Cody Ford to start if Brown can’t play and a new arrival like Andrew Stueber to properly back up rookie Amarius Mims.
This is a pretty big risk to take in front of Burrow, considering Brown projects to be questionable this week at best and the biggest concern about Mims in college was his actual availability. The team already lost Trent Brown for the season on the right side.
One would think after effectively losing two offensive tackles this year already, the Bengals might pluck a guy off another team’s practice squad to their own 53-man roster or sign a veteran free agent.
Instead, like when injuries hit corner and the defensive trenches, the Bengals are going to play the waiting game and hope what they have is good enough.