Bengals tackle La’el Collins missed the final weeks of the regular season and all of the playoffs after tearing ligaments in his knee and it’s unclear when he’ll be ready to get back on the field.
Collins gave an update on his recovery from his season-ending injury from the team’s facility on Monday. He said he’s doing some football work as part of his rehabilitation, but that there’s no timeline for a full return to action in place at the moment.
“I can’t give you a timetable,” Collins said, via Ben Baby of ESPN.com. “I’m not the guy that makes the ultimate decision. But at the end of the day, I feel like if I had to play today, I could put a brace on it and I could go to work. I know my knee is locked in and stable. Dr. [Neal] ElAttrache is the best in the business. I feel great.”
Collins started at right tackle last season, but the Bengals signed Orlando Brown as a free agent last month to shake up the look of their offensive line. Brown is set to play left tackle and Jonah Williams could compete on the right side, although he has requested a trade away from the team.
The team has not agreed to such a move, but a deal would make it all the more important for Collins to make a full recovery by the start of the season.