Cincinnati Bengals offensive tackle La’el Collins seems like a longshot to be the starter at right tackle in Week 1 as he continues to rehab a serious mid-December knee injury.
While Collins recovers, the idea is the Bengals will have Jonah Williams, Cody Ford and Jackson Carman compete for the right to start in the season opener.
Unless Collins is ahead of schedule, of course.
Collins did recently say he would like to target a Week 1 return, which at the time, just sounded like optimistic talk given the severity of the injury and return timetable.
But Wednesday, Collins shared a clip of his training at Bengals practice on his Instagram stories (h/t BengalsDrake) and he looks great, to say the least:
#Bengals La’el Collins getting back to work (via his Instagram story) 👀 pic.twitter.com/cJDauorpR2
— DB (@bengalsdrake) May 24, 2023
This doesn’t mean Collins is ahead of schedule and in the conversation for Week 1. Odds seem strong Williams will still win that job, unless the eyebrow-raising accent of Carman continues.
But still…it’s understandable to see why fans are so excited about this clip just five or so months removed from Collins’ serious injury.
