Tag: amarius mims

Bengals rookie Amarius Mims shoots down injury-prone label

The injured Bengals rookie has an issue with an emerging narrative.

Cincinnati Bengals rookie Amarius Mims doesn’t want to hear any “injury-prone” chatter.

Mims, currently on the shelf with a pec strain, has heard the rumblings online about his injury history and addressed them after a recent training camp practice.

“I had a knee my freshman year of high school and an ankle last year,” Mims said, according to Dan Hoard. “That’s all I’ve had. I don’t know where that narrative came from.”

Conventional outside draft analysis suggested a variety of factors caused Mims to fall down the board on draft day. A big one was his lack of pure starts at Georgia, in part due to injuries that held him off the field.

Still, the “fall” part of that analysis is correct, at least, because Mims was putting on a show at training camp before the injury, seemingly positioning himself to start at right tackle no matter what the veteran Trent Brown showed.

For Mims, Bengals coach Zac Taylor said the injury could keep him out weeks, though wouldn’t go into specifics beyond that. Brown has been cleared and back on the field since while repping with the first team.

Narratives aside, the focus now turns to how quickly Mims can get back from a pesky type of injury, especially for offensive linemen — and whether the team has seen enough to put him out there in front of Joe Burrow in Week 1 if he’s ready.

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Rookie in the NFL suffers pectoral injury

Oft-injured Georgia rookie in the NFL can’t catch a break

Former Georgia Bulldog and 2024 first-round selection Amarius Mims will be out for several weeks after sustaining a strained pectoral muscle in the Cincinnati Bengals’ preseason game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

The timetable for his return to the gridiron is, “More than 2 and fewer than many (weeks),” according to Bengals coach Zac Taylor. Mims has had major concerns with injuries in the past, making just eight starts for UGA’s offensive line, missing 7 games last season for the Bulldogs with a left ankle sprain, and pulling his hamstring at the NFL Combine.

Regardless, the Bengals selected him with the 18th to be the starting right tackle and protect Joe Burrow. In the game against the Buccaneers, he performed well, not allowing any pressures against their edge rushers and keeping them at bay against the run, albeit in just 15 snaps.

There wasn’t any indication during the game of an injury to Mims, but Taylor said Mims talked to him after the game about it, and a further screening revealed the strained pectoral muscle. He’s likely to miss the last 2 preseason games and potentially even their first game of the season against the New England Patriots.

Bengals lose first-rounder Amarius Mims for ‘several weeks’ with injury

Mims had durability questions as a prospect and now the first-rounder from Georgia could miss the start of the season

One of the biggest knocks on Amarius Mims as a prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft was his questionable durability. Mims started just eight games at Georgia at offensive tackle and had concerns over his size, but his athletic potential and flashes of great power and upside convinced the Cincinnati Bengals to take the risk and select Mims in the first round.

Unfortunately for the Bengals and Mims, the big man is hurt again. Mims will miss “several weeks” with a pectoral injury, according to numerous reports including Ian Rapoport of NFL.com.

Mims had some injury questions coming into the draft process. At Georgia, he missed more than half of the 2023 season after undergoing Tightrope surgery to fix a high ankle sprain. The 6-foot-8, 240-pound Mims pulled a hamstring while running the 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine too, ending his workout season.

It’s not a season-ending injury, thankfully. However, for a player with such a limited breadth of experience, missing at least a month of reps in practice will do Mims no favors as a rookie.

Bengals rookie Amarius Mims suffered injury that could hold him out weeks

An injury setback for the Bengals’ first-round pick.

Cincinnati Bengals first-round pick Amarius Mims was on track to steal the starting job at right tackle by Week 1.

That came to a screeching halt on Monday, though, with Bengals head coach Zac Taylor revealing that Mims suffered a strained pec and will miss a few weeks of action.

Taylor said that Mims had discomfort after the preseason opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the team’s medical staff later found the issue.

On the same Monday, veteran right tackle Trent Brown returned to practice after dealing with injuries of his own. He will now presumably have the inside track on the starting job, provided he picks things up quickly after arriving via free agency this offseason.

While Mims won’t require surgery and Taylor stressed the issue as a “minor” thing, he also wasn’t willing to commit to any sort of timeline.

Injuries that contributed to a lack of real-game reps in college were one of the things that knocked Mims down the board in the first round. Moving forward, the Bengals have to hope that this is an anomaly because his flashes so far were that of a top-10 pick.

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NFL expert explains why Amarius Mims is on path to start for Bengals

Bengals rookie Amarius Mims is earning attention for all the right reasons.

At first, it seemed Cincinnati Bengals first-round pick Amarius Mims would sit behind Trent Brown as a rookie.

But it sure isn’t looking like that now.

Mims took the majority of the first-team reps over the spring and into the summer, capped off by an encouraging showing in the team’s first preseason game.

Now, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer has spotlighted Mims in a national column and helped explain why the narrative has changed so quickly:

• It’s rare that an offensive lineman is the buzz at training camp, but I’d say that was the case in Cincinnati—where Amarius Mims’s name was raised by everyone I talked to. I’d be surprised if he doesn’t start, and the reason the Bengals saw this coming, despite Mims having just eight college starts, is interesting, too. Their scouts told the coaches that any issue there would be mitigated by Georgia’s game-like practices, and how the talent on that practice field was often better than what opponents threw at the Bulldogs.

The fact Brown missed time during the spring and is only just now getting in gear to partake in practices has given Mims enough time with the ones to prove Bengals coaches right.

While Brown has the veteran edge, Mims might just have enough of a head start now to lock down that starting gig at right tackle.

Even if Mims doesn’t earn the starting job right away, so far, what Bengals personnel thought about his pro upside has largely looked correct. And if it keeps on being correct, the team might have a long-term solution on that side of the line.

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Georgia rookie may start from Day 1 in the NFL

Former Georgia football star is drawing a lot of buzz in training camp. He could start at right tackle in Week 1 with the Cincinnati Bengals

Former Georgia Bulldogs offensive tackle Amarius Mims has been drawing substantial buzz for his performances in training camp with the Cincinnati Bengals. In fact, Mims could be a Week 1 starter for the Bengals.

“I don’t know what they’re going to do for sure, but Amarius is doing a really good job, man,” said Bengals starting left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. “I think he’s going to be a really good pro. The way I would describe it is, there’s guys that are raw, and then there’s guys that are just inexperienced. And he’s just inexperienced, you know, in my opinion.”

One of Mims’ top flaws entering the draft was his lack of starting experience and injury history. If Mims can stay healthy, he could have a better pro career than his college career.

“He went to Georgia, he practiced against great talent, he played in the SEC, played in those big games,” continued Brown Jr. “I just don’t think he played in many of them. But he’s good, man, I think he’s going to be a good pro.”

Mims is hard to miss on the Bengals’ practice field. The 6-foot-8, 340-pound offensive tackle has always stepped up when healthy. He has the potential to be a difference-maker right away for Cincinnati.

The Bengals drafted Mims with the No. 18 pick in the 2024 NFL draft. Mims is competing to start at right tackle with NFL veteran Trent Brown, who missed the start of training camp with an injury but is healthy now.

“First-round rookie Amarius Mims has a legitimate chance to win the starting right tackle job,” said ESPN’s Dan Graziano (subscription required). “Veteran Trent Brown has missed the early part of camp recovering from injury, so Mims has been getting the first-team reps and winning over coaches and teammates.”

The Bengals are looking to protect star quarterback Joe Burrow, so they will start whoever can do a better job of that at right tackle.

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Mims signed a fully guaranteed four-year, $15.37 million contract with a $7.99 million signing bonus. The Bengals have a team option for a fifth year.

Bengals rookie Amarius Mims quickly impressed Joe Burrow, coaches

The hype for Bengals rookie Amarius Mims is starting to grow at training camp.

Cincinnati Bengals first-round pick Amarius Mims is starting to turn some heads often at training camp.

It’s not just his stunning size that has defenders attempting to get around him looking small, either.

Take, for example, offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher, who is one of many coaches to praise Mims for his quick adaptation to the pro game.

“He’s not making the same mistake twice,” Pitcher said, according to Dan Hoard of Bengals.com. “He’s really coachable, has a great way about him, and has a good blend of self-confidence and humility.”

Or, more importantly, a guy by the name of Joe Burrow is quite pleased with what he sees, too, per CLNS Media’s Mike Petraglia:

Quick progress or not, Mims will still have to fend off free-agent addition Trent Brown, once the veteran is off the Active/Non-Football Injury list. Also, he’ll have to overcome whatever minor ailment had him leaving the field on a cart on Thursday.

Still, the praise from such important members of the organization says it all — Mims is on the right path as he looks to live up to the first-round hype.

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Bengals rookie Amarius Mims leaves training camp practice on cart

The Bengals first-round pick left the field on a cart.

Cincinnati Bengals first-round pick Amarius Mims left the practice fields near Paycor Stadium on a cart during Thursday’s training camp practice.

The Cincinnati Enquirer’s Kelsey Conway elaborated that Mims was on the sideline receiving cold towels from the training staff, potentially signaling a cramping issue and not an injury.

On first pass, no word as to whether Mims suffered an injury or simply needed to leave the field. The Bengals use carts for precautionary reasons often, simply due to the length of the trip back to the stadium.

Mims has been working with the first-team offense at right tackle since camp started because veteran free-agent signee Trent Brown started his summer on the Active/Non-Football Injury list.

With Mims out, names like Devin Cochran and even Cody Ford could see first-team reps.

UPDATE: Mims wouldn’t say what the issue was, but that he would be back at practice on Friday, per CLNS Media’s Mike Petraglia.

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Amarius Mims contract details after rookie signs with Bengals

Contract details for Bengals first-round pick Amarius Mims.

The Cincinnati Bengals got first-round pick Amarius Mims under contract before training camp started this week.

Mims was the last overall draft pick to sign his rookie deal. As a refresher, the contract checks in at $15.371 million that is fully guaranteed, a $7.9 million signing bonus and the team option for the fifth year.

While fans might never hear from the team about why Mims was the last rookie to sign, odds are it had to do with waiting on other late-signing draft picks right in front of him to sign their own deals, solidifying guarantee structures.

As of now, Mims would technically be a free agent after the 2029 season at the age of 27, provided he earns the fifth-year option. To do so, he’ll need to rise to the top of the depth chart at right tackle, which he could do as soon as this summer during a roster battle with free-agent arrival Trent Brown.

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Bengals rookie OT signs contract, finalizing 1st round picks

Amarius Mims is the last first-round pick to sign his rookie contract.

On Monday, the Cincinnati Bengals signed first-round pick Amarius Mims to his rookie contract. The Bengals selected Mims with the No. 18 overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft. With the signing of Mims, the entire first round of the 2024 NFL draft class is under contract.

The 2024 first round was remarkable for several things. This was the only draft where six quarterbacks were selected in the top 12 picks. This draft was also unique by not having a single defensive player selected in the first 14 picks. Defensive end Laiatu Latu went No. 15 overall to the Indianapolis Colts. In all, only nine defensive players went in the first round.

Now that Mims is under contract, Mims is set to hit training camp and battle it out with Trent Brown for the starting right tackle spot. The Bengals signed Brown as a free agent from the New England Patriots in the offseason.

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