After Bengals offensive tackle La'el Collins suffered a knee injury during Sunday’s victory over the Patriots, a report emerged that Collins had torn his ACL and MCL.
On Tuesday, head coach Zac Taylor did not confirm that report. But he did concede it’s unlikely to end up being good news on Collins whenever the news is confirmed.
“With LC, not optimistic that it’s going to turn out well for this season, but we’re still gathering information on that one,” Taylor said in his press conference.
Collins has helped stabilize an offensive line that struggled mightily last season, despite reaching Super Bowl LVI. He’s started all 15 games after signing with the franchise in March. Hakeem Adenjii is slated to replace Collins at right tackle.
Taylor also noted defensive end Sam Hubbard is day-to-day with his calf injury. Not playing until next Monday night may be helpful for his availability.
And while the club downgraded Hayden Hurst to out before traveling to New England, Taylor sounded like the tight end has a very good chance of playing against the Bills.
“He had a good week. Ultimately, that just came down to a coaching decision to give it one more week instead of playing up there in the cold when he was feeling really good,” Taylor said. “But I thought if we could give it another nine days, he’d be in great shape going into this week.
“So, very optimistic about him. I think he’s got a great mindset right now, health-wise, with how he feels. So, excited to get him back into the mix and feel good about this week.”
Hubbard has 6.5 sacks, 11 tackles for loss, and a career-high 21 quarterback hits in 14 games.
Hurst has 48 receptions for 400 yards with a pair of touchdowns in 12 games this season.