Cincinnati Bengals OL Collins Exits With Knee Injury

The Cincinnati Bengals will be without one of their free agent splashes along the offensive line for the rest of Week 16. The team has declared tackle La'el Collins out with a knee injury for the remainder of today's game against the New England Patriots.

.@KetteringHealth Injury Update: OT La'el Collins has a left knee injury. He has been declared out.
— Cincinnati Bengals (@Bengals) December 24, 2022

Collins collapsed in pain after a defender rolled over his knee. He managed to hobble off the field largely under his own power, but his injury was still apparently severe enough to rule him out for the rest of today's game.

Collins joined the Bengals earlier this year as part of a concerted offseason strategy to improve the team's offensive line. Though initial results were mixed (29 sacks allowed in the first eight games of the season), the offense has rounded into form of late, scoring 30.5 points per game over their last six matchups.

The Bengals have survived Collins' absence so far. They lead the Patriots 22-0 at the half.