The Cincinnati Bengals (11-4 straight up, 12-3 against the spread) will be without one of their best offensive linemen for the rest of the year. Offensive tackle La’el Collins went down in the first quarter of Saturday’s 22-18 win at New England as three-point road ‘chalk.’
Collins sustained a torn ACL and MCL, according to the Cincinnati Enquirer.
After the win in Foxboro, Collins told media members that the initial tests done by team doctors seemed to indicate that he had avoided a long-term injury. However, Sunday’s MRI back in Cincinnati revealed the bad news.
Collins had started all 15 games at right tackle after inking a three-year, $21 million deal with the team that made last year’s Super Bowl in spite of an offensive line that allowed franchise QB Joe Burrow to get sacked 70 times. Collins has won one of four new starters on that unit in 2022.
When Collins left the game against the Patriots, he was replaced by last year’s starting right guard Hakeem Adeniji, a third-year veteran who was a sixth-round pick by the Bengals in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Cincinnati has won 11 of its last 13 games while compiling a stellar 12-1 spread record. The Bengals are short home underdogs vs. Buffalo on Monday Night Football.