Bengals Suffer Devastating Loss on Offense Line

Cincinnati Bengals offensive tackle Trent Brown, who suffered a knee injury in Monday night’s loss to the Washington Commanders, will undergo surgery to repair his torn patellar tendon, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. His 2024 season is over, but Brown is expected to make a full recovery.

The Bengals are off to a brutal 0-3 start, and losing Brown for the season will be another challenge to overcome. Rookie first-round pick Amarius Mims will replace Brown at right tackle.

Brown suffered the injury while in pass protection in Monday night’s game. He immediately grabbed his right knee and had to be taken off the field on a medical cart. Bengals head coach Zac Taylor did not express optimism about the injury after the game, “It doesn’t look good.”

Brown, who stands at 6-foot-8, 359 pounds, signed a one-year deal worth up to $4.75 million with the Bengals this offseason after spending the three prior seasons with the New England Patriots.

Mims is also a massive tackle at 6-foot-8, 340 pounds with 36-inch arms. At the combine, Mims ran a 5.07-second 40-yard dash, an impressive time for that size. The one big knock with him is his lack of experience, however. He started just eight games in college at Georgia.

The Steelers expressed interest in Mims during the pre-draft process, but selected Troy Fautanu at 20th overall instead. Mims went to the Bengals at 14th overall.

“The Steelers thought Troy Fautanu could go as high as No. 10 to the Jets and didn’t expect him to fall. GM Omar Khan worked the phones just in case, before Fautanu fell to the Steelers at No. 20. Georgia tackle Amarius Mims, who went to Cincinnati at No. 18, was firmly on Pittsburgh’s radar, too,” Fowler wrote about the decision in the first round.

The Steelers play at Cincinnati in Week 13 and host the Bengals in Week 18. Mims will have the daunting task of blocking Steelers All-Pro outside linebacker T.J. Watt. Things didn’t go well for fellow rookie Joe Alt this past Sunday.