Every NFL team’s most surprising cut candidate

Cincinnati Bengals — La’el Collins

The Cincinnati Bengals are in the upper echelon of NFL teams, and that comes with hard decisions. They have to pay just about everyone, including a record-breaking contract that’s expected to come Joe Burrow’s way. With that salary cap charge coming soon, the Bengals may need to pinch some pennies. They have to do it in a way that doesn’t completely impact the on-field product. That complicates this one a bit.

The Bengals cannot go back to having a bad offensive line. It made things much harder for Burrow in his first few seasons. The Bengals put resources on the line, including the addition of La’el Collins after he was surprisingly cut by the Dallas Cowboys in 2022. He played well for the Bengals for most of the season, but then he tore both his ACL and MCL in a Week 16 game against the New England Patriots.

The Bengals did just fine without Collins, but Hakeem Adeniji definitely didn’t play as well as he could. After the Bengals opted not to draft any offensive linemen, it might show they are fine with how things are. However, like Collins in 2022, the Bengals could see one of those 1,184 cuts be a better fit than a right tackle coming off a completely restructured knee.

This all comes down to injury for the Bengals. They cannot have a liability at right tackle. They need a replacement, so if they don’t find one, they might be stuck with Collins. However, right tackles seemingly always become available during final roster cuts. Some lose out in training camp battles and see a new fire build. Others were straight cap casualties. Either way, the Bengals could use this method to keep Burrow upright.