NFL Trade Rumors: Cincinnati Bengals Tackle Trent Brown Done for the Year

The Cincinnati Bengals' 2024 season may be slipping away from them. According to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, Bengals starting tackle Trent Brown will undergo season-ending surgery in order to repair a torn patellar tendon suffered during Monday Night Football's 38-33 loss to the Washington Commanders.

#Bengals OT Trent Brown, who was ruled out last night with a knee injury, will undergo surgery to repair his torn patellar tendon, sources say. His 2024 season is over, but Brown is expected to make a full recovery. pic.twitter.com/W5EDpAC2Lo
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 24, 2024

Brown was carted off the field after 26 total snaps and quickly declared out. He was replaced in the lineup by Amarius Mims, the Bengals' 18th overall pick of the 2024 NFL Draft.

Brown missing time is, unfortunately, nothing new for the veteran tackle. He has missed five or more games in six of his nine previous seasons. When available, he has occasionally flirted with dominance. He was a key part of the 2018 Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots and he even earned a Pro Bowl with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2019.

To the Bengals' credit, they're unusually well-positioned to replace Brown. Mims is a similarly powerful tackle, and his draft pedigree means he was the team's longterm plan at tackle anyway. He may be rushed into the spotlight a little sooner than the Bengals hoped, but he didn't appear to be a significant problem last night: they scored on their last five drives of the game.

Still, the Bengals can hardly afford any new headaches. They've started the season 0-3, and the three other teams in the AFC North all made the playoffs in 2023. Unless Mims can hit the ground running, losing Brown could be the straw that breaks the camel's back. Another lost season could mean massive organizational changes for the Bengals in 2025.