Cincinnati Bengals lose promising lineman Tanner Hawkinson indefinitely

Thursday’s victory over The Atlanta Falcons was a great way for the Cincinnati Bengals to open the preseason, but not everything was positive coming out of the game.

Rookie offensive lineman Tanner Hawkinson suffered an ankle injury in the third-quarter and immediately hit the turf and appeared to be in serious pain, so much so that a cart was called for him. Hawkinson was able to rise to his feet and waived off the cart, and he then departed to the lockerroom. The Bengals later said it was an ankle injury and they didn’t know the severity of it.

Now, the team is reporting that Hawkinson is out indefinitely, leaving an already depleted Bengals offensive line even thinner. It’s a pretty significant loss, as Hawkinson was versatile enough to play all five spots on the o-line, and was doing just that with a number of injuries keeping several lineman out of practice.

Head Coach Marvin Lewis indicated after the game, Hawkinson isn’t hurt badly enough to be out for the year but he said he’s going to miss some time. It looks significant enough that Anthony Collins remains the first man off the bench to back up Pro Bowler Andrew Whitworth and play some guard. Whitworth missed the game as he recovers from knee surgery.