The Cincinnati Bengals pulled a shocker on Tuesday with the release of offensive tackle La’el Collins.
Collins had been rehabbing a knee injury this offseason and started this year on the PUP list.
Buy Bengals TicketsWhile Collins did that, the Bengals brought over Orlando Brown Jr. to start at left tackle and shifted Jonah Williams to right tackle.
Moving forward without Williams, the Bengals will rely on D’Ante Smith, Jackson Carman and Cody Ford to play backup tackle roles when necessary.
Understandably, the move left some Bengals fans confused, especially given the team’s recent history with poor depth — and the team not explaining the move while announcing it didn’t help.
Releasing La’el Collins is wild.
— Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) September 12, 2023
La'el Collins had a rough start last season, but he was playing at a high level at right tackle during the second half of the season before he got hurt.
The Bengals' offensive line depth cost them in each of the last two seasons. Now, they lose some of that depth in Collins. https://t.co/hkG0eM4nvB
— Charlie Goldsmith (@CharlieG__) September 12, 2023
Huge shock! Especially after Jonah not impressing anyone on Sunday and Carman being inactive. Wouldn’t they have saved $$ releasing him two weeks ago if that was the plan?
— andy kulina (@kulinauk) September 12, 2023
never forget when la’el collins was spotted at the kenwood mall leading up to his signing ✊
— avery (@JaMarrJungle) September 12, 2023
I will say this once again, La'el Collins would have been a better guard than a tackle… Keep in mind as a guard he never allowed a single sack on the QB…
— Law Nation Sports (@LawsNation) September 12, 2023
The Bengals released La'El Collins after just one season
He tore his ACL late december against the patriots and seemed to be healthy soon🤷♂️
That leaves them with carman and d'ante smith as the backup tackles.
Not sure how to feel about this— Der German Tiger🐅 (@DerGermanTiger) September 12, 2023
Just don’t really understand the logic of releasing La’el Collins at this point if you’re the Bengals.
The timing feels completely bizarre.
— Willie Lutz (@willie_lutz) September 12, 2023
Remember when La’el Collins first arrived in Cincinnati?
(Before even signing a contract)He was spotted by fans at Kenwood Mall, and because the subject of memes for weeks ⬇️
Today, he was released by the #Bengals. Certainly not how fans envisioned things going.@WCPO https://t.co/lFqFMaJYAk
— Caleb Noe (@CalebNoeTV) September 12, 2023
It’s not weird that the Bengals are releasing La’El Collins. He didn’t come close to playing up to his contract in 2022 and was gonna be a backup after coming back.
What’s weird is that they’re releasing him now.
— Patrick LB3 (@Patrick_LB3) September 12, 2023
Woah. Didn’t expect to see the #Bengals releasing La’el Collins today
— Blake Jewell (@BlakeJewellNFL) September 12, 2023
Bengals releasing La’el Collins… Wow.
— Patrick Carey (@PatCareySports) September 12, 2023
Someone please explain to me why we cut La’el Collins like I’m 5
— Bengals Football (@CincinnatiBZN) September 12, 2023
The Bengals releasing La'el Collins is a risky move.
— The Sportsdudeheinz Show (@SdudeHeinzShow) September 12, 2023
I really don't like releasing La'el Collins. Makes almost no sense.
— Bengalscentre (@bengaIscentre) September 12, 2023
Can someone smarter than me explain why we just cut La'el Collins?
— Brice (@__brice) September 12, 2023
Jackson Carman & D’Ante can’t be 2s with the quarterback making $219m guaranteed…
Just a bad move, hope there’s something more coming..
— Nati Sports (@Nati_Sports) September 12, 2023
Maybe La'el asked for it? Maybe it has to do with Tee? Maybe they didn't see wiggle room on the 53 if he's ready. Either way, it's D'Ante Smith and Jackson Carman now.
— Chris Roling (@Chris_Roling) September 12, 2023
