First notable injury of Bengals training camp hurts a position that can't afford a loss of any kind
Three days of Cincinnati Bengals training camp are in the books, and a possible Week 1 starter is now on the mend. Right guard Lucas Patrick left Friday morning's practice early, walking off the field under his own power. WLWT's Charlie Clifford reports Patrick started the morning on the rehab field. Cincinnati watched a few […]
Three days of Cincinnati Bengals training camp are in the books, and a possible Week 1 starter is now on the mend.
Right guard Lucas Patrick left Friday morning's practice early, walking off the field under his own power. WLWT's Charlie Clifford reports Patrick started the morning on the rehab field.
Cincinnati watched a few of its players get dinged up during Thursday's practice, including Tee Higgins and Myles Murphy. Both of those players returned Friday as if nothing happened.
Things may not be that simple for Patrick.
Lucas Patrick injury update
Per Cincinnati Bengals on SI's James Rapien, Patrick was seen after practice wearing a sleeve on his right calf.
Patrick was in the locker room following the session with a sleeve on his right calf. He didn’t speak to reporters after practice, but it’s certainly noteworthy that he left early. — SI’s James Rapien
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The Bengals are far too familiar with calf injuries with the memory of Joe Burrow suffering a calf strain in training camp just two years old. It's unclear if Patrick's injury is in fact calf strain, but considering he was doing rehab work prior to practice, it may very well be a real ailment.
Patrick is in the middle of a competition to start at RG for Cincinnati. His main competitor is Cody Ford, who's taken the lion's share of reps at the position through three camp practices. Patrick also took reps as the second-string center earlier this week due to an injury backup Matt Lee is dealing with.
Right guard is the only position on offense without an established starter, and while Ford has earned trust in the system since joining the team in 2023, it would be far from ideal to simply hand him the job in late July. Patrick was brought in to push him and potentially win the role for himself.
If he happens to miss time, that disrupts an necessary competition.
The Bengals need to figure out if Patrick's injury will sideline him for any period of time in order to figure out their next step. Free agent tight end Noah Fant took a visit Thursday and the club appears interested in signing him, but their attention may need to pivot toward helping out the guard spot pending a further update on Patrick.
Cincinnati's next camp practice is scheduled for Sunday at 10 a.m. ET.
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