It may be the first time in the history of anything a 6-8, 350-pounder was replaced by someone bigger.
That's what happened Monday at training camp as the Bengals grappled with the news their rookie right tackle sensation Amarius Mims is out for several weeks with a strained pectoral muscle.
The gifted Mims had been on track to become the Bengals' first Opening Day rookie tackle since Pro Football Hall of Famer Anthony Munoz 44 years ago. If he can't go, offensive line coach Frank Pollack assured the veteran Trent Brown can.
"What do we have? A month before the opener? He'll be ready then," Pollack said after practice. "He's not ready tomorrow. He's got a whole month, and he looked pretty (bleeping) good today for his first day."
The 6-8, 380-pound Brown is the football version of a guy who can fall out of a snowbank and hit .320. As one of the most reliable pass blockers from the NFL right side in the last decade, he comes to Cincinnati with 100 NFL games, a Super Bowl ring and a sense of security. His spring practice was cut short by attending to personal issues and he couldn't practice right away at training camp with soreness, but Pollack knew he'd have him when he needed him.
"He's got something to fall back on and recall and come right to it. It's just shaking the rust off," Pollack said of last Thursday's practice. "When we were in the stadium, I think it was the very first rep in one-on-one. I was teasing him. 'Is that all the rust you needed to shake off is just one quick rep and you're good to go?' Ever since then, he's been pretty impressive."
Don't mistake Brown's cool impassiveness for nonchalance. Here's a guy who played at his best amid some of the highest drama in the league with the Belichick-Brady Patriots, so what hasn't he seen? After Monday's practice, Brown was glad to hear Pollack's take.
"I guess that's good they think I look good because I feel like I'm a fish out of water," Brown said. "I'm not up to my standards. It's just a matter of getting used to the communication, the snap count, and getting my feet back under me. Once it all comes together, I'll be fine. But I'm not there yet."
Mims was certainly getting there with the help of Brown. The two were velcroid together on the sidelines after Mims' encouraging first 15 snaps in the preseason opener.
"I'm giving him all my wisdom," Brown said. "He was playing lights out. He has the tools to be as good, if not better than me. It stinks he's got an ailment, but I think he'll hit the ground running as soon as he gets back."
That is, of course, the question. When quarterback Joe Burrow strained his calf on the second day of training camp, head coach Zac Taylor's definition of "several weeks," turned out to be Opening Day. Whether Mims can start the opener without the rest of the preseason seems to be the question of August.
"He's a rookie, and I don't care if he's a 10-year vet, you don't want to miss any time," said Pollack, who recalled his All-Decade left tackle with the Cowboys. "Tyron Smith, as great a player as he is, would miss a couple of weeks, would have an injury, and come back, but he was rusty, slow with his inside hand and his set angles weren't as sharp as they needed to be. That's just natural stuff.
"It's going to be a little bit of setback, but he's going to be right on top of it from a mental standpoint and get all the mental reps he can get watching tape and watching practice and then rehab to get back as quickly as possible."
Mims was his usual upbeat self after watching Monday's practice with his group ("It was hot and they were working and I wanted to be out there with them"), but he wasn't going to expand on the injury.
"Coach Taylor answered all the questions," Mims said. "I was just doing too much. It's a physical game. You never play at 100%, but there's a point you know you can't fight through it and when you're hurt. I'll do better knowing my body. I'm not going to say I'm frustrated. There's a lesson to being a young guy. I'll get back as soon as possible."
Mims said he spent Monday morning going over Saturday night's tape and while he thought it was "OK," he also wanted to clean up some things.
"I'm a perfectionist. If I stonewall a guy, maybe I could have stonewalled that guy two yards earlier. Hand placement. Getting into my sets faster."
But he certainly has passed Polack's first tests. Pollack remembered when the Lions drafted Oregon tackle Penei Sewell.
"(Mims will) be where he needs to be. It's a constant process throughout the year. The Detroit kid who is really special was no box of chocolates his rookie year, but he's pretty damn good now," Pollack said. "It's just a learning process. He'll see something different from a unique rusher and Lord knows we have those unique rushers in our division. It's going to be a fun year and I'm really impressed where he's been so far."
CO-PLAYERS OF THE DAY: QB Joe Burrow and WR Andrei Iosivas
As good as he looked Saturday night, Burrow looked even better Monday. He didn't come up with a touchdown in the move-the-ball drills, though, denied by elite plays by the ball-hawking vets Vonn Bell and Germaine Pratt.
But he smoked all different kinds of throws to Iosivas over the middle of zones and just beyond man coverage. With Burrow getting heat on play-action, he whirled it like a side-arming middle reliever to tight end Mike Gesicki over the middle.
Gesicki, the seven-year vet whose career is being revived in Burrow's red zone, was the beneficiary of one of those Rocket Man passes inside the 20 during seven-on-seven.
Gesicki's pre-snap read was zone, but as he saw the safety move to an outside route, he read man and cut to the middle against linebacker Logan Wilson. As usual, Wilson was with him, but Burrow flicked quickly and Gesicki caught it on the back line.
"It was the only place he could really put it," Gesicki said. "He saw what I saw and gave me a great ball. He was on today, especially building off the momentum of the game. He's playing really well."
Iosivas, coming off a 23-yard catch Saturday, came out bounding around on fresh legs and caught a handful of intermediate balls from a slot position that looks to be his very own. Even with wide receiver Tee Higgins getting a rest after his dominant Saturday and Charlie Jones sitting out with a dinged knee, Iosivas still took all his snaps in the slot Monday.
Although three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase has yet to practice, plans are still in place.
"When Ja'Marr comes back that's what I'll be playing, so I might as well get into that regular season thing," Iosivas said of his slot work.
Wide receivers coach Troy Walters knows where Iosivas is going to be after a game, before a game or in a game.
"He plays when his number is called. He's a track guy. He knows how to take care of his body. I don't ever remember a time where he's been banged up or hobbled. He's there every day," Walters said. "We know what he can do on the outside. He's comfortable on the outside, and he's getting more and more comfortable in the slot. We try to teach the concepts so guys can play multiple positions."
CO-PLAYS OF THE DAY: S Vonn Bell and LB Germaine Pratt.
We'll go in order.
Burrow was in the middle of his hot streak when he was forced to scoot up in the pocket and cocked one from his ear to head it right to wide receiver Shed Jackson sitting in the middle of the field. Bell came in a full-out dive from the right, parallel to the ground, and slapped it way.
Later in the practice, Pratt, the man Bell says wakes up thinking about the ball, welcomed Pro Bowl sacker Trey Hendrickson to his first padded practice. Hendrickson's big rush fouled up a screen to running back Zack Moss. Burrow had to hurry and lofted it out to the perimeter. Pratt was already all over it, but when Moss fell down, he had clear sailing for a pick-six when he rolled up back to his feet.
CO-QUOTES OF THE DAY
Rookie S Daijahn Anthony on why he's still playing with a fractured nose he suffered in the preseason opener:
"This game is about availability. Who can be available? God blessed me that it's not an injury that can stop me from running. Or from using my hands. Everything else on my body is good and what you need to play football. My face is going to be protected. A lot of people would take a break. That's not me. I live for football."
Bengals offensive line coach Frank Pollack on Trent Brown's team debut Monday:
"He's sudden. I've never seen a guy that weighs north of 370, 365, whatever it is, and he is sudden. Sudden. He closes his face on the defender and it takes all the air out. He's right on him. It's incredible. He plays with length and he mirrors the guy with length. He's got the understanding of balance, when he's pulling his outside hand and leaving his hand inside and making the outside rusher re-fit. He's the epitome of a dancing bear. It's ridiculous. This guy is amazing. It's ridiculous. He's played a long time in this league for a reason."
SLANTS AND SCREENS: When he gave Brown a rest Monday, Pollack turned to Cody Ford, the vet who played tackle as a rookie in Buffalo in 2019. That wasn't a surprise.
Kicking out No. 2 left guard Jaxson Kirkland to No. 2 left tackle wasn't all that surprising since he's having an excellent camp. The Bengals signed him last year as an undrafted free agent out of Washington who played every spot but center in making three first All Pac-12 teams.
Kirkland certainly looked competent outside Monday, the first time he's played tackle in Cincinnati after spending most of last season on the practice squad before getting wrist surgery.
"He's been playing guard most of the time and these are his first reps at tackle. Watch the tape and you will enjoy watching him, too," Pollack said. "He's had a great camp. He's an offensive lineman. He's got to hone some of his technique and be a little bit quicker with his hands at guard, counter moves, and all that kind of stuff with his feet. But he's working on that stuff and he's doing really well."
Again, for what seemed to be the fifth straight day, Kirkland was in the middle of a scrum, this time standing up for running back Trayveon Williams down the field. As they ran back to the huddle, Willams gave Kirkland a pat on the back.
"He (doesn't) take (crap) from anybody. That's how you've got to be. He's not doing cheap shots. He's just playing football," Pollack said. "What's typical about defensive guys is they don't like to be blocked. It doesn't matter what position they play. That's typical. I just laugh it off, and those guys are going to defend themselves and not back off from anybody. That's what you want on the O-Line. I call it the 'silent intimidators.'" …
The fathers of one of the NFL's greatest tandems were on hand Monday at practice, Jimmy Burrow and Jimmy Chase. Both chewed the fat before practice with head coach Zac Taylor and during practice with Bengals president Mike Brown …
Higgins got the day off from team drills Monday after his dominating performance Saturday night, and he had some advice for rookie Jermaine Burton after his three-catch, 82-yard effort.
"Can't let that one just be the one. It's preseason. It counts, but it doesn't count. Get those plays for the season," Higgins said.
Higgins recalled in his rookie year way back in 2020 when there were times he needed tight end C.J. Uzomah to get him lined up after they broke the huddle and how he was "in the pocket," of his idol AJ. Green in his final season as a Bengal.
"I asked him multiple questions all the time," Higgins said. "I'm in that role now. I'll give him any advice. It's crazy. It felt like just three years ago I was a rookie and now I'm in year five. It's wild." ….
Runnerup for Play of the Day: Iosivas misread Burrow on a long ball designed to get a completion with 13 seconds left in order to get a timeout for another play. Iosivas says he stopped when he should have kept running, which is probably the only thing he's done wrong in weeks. Burrow flung it and safety Geno Stone kept running back and made a nice over-the-shoulder snag.
"Ball skills," said Stone, the defending AFC interceptions champion, who confirmed he played wide receiver in his sophomore and junior years at New Castle High School in Western Pennsylvania …
