La’el Collins misses practice but still expected to be ready for Week 1

Joe Burrow took 51 sacks last season, the most in the NFL. The Cincinnati Bengals knew that needed to be fixed, and the front office did just that, adding three new faces in free agency, all of which are expected to start in Week 1.

The Bengals brought in Ted Karras from New England, Alex Cappa from Tampa Bay, and La’el Collins from Dallas. None of the three took the field in the Bengals' first preseason match, a 36-23 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

As for Collins, he was absent from practice today but is expected to be back by Week 1, which seems encouraging that the situation won’t cause him to miss any games that actually count.

Now, getting some preseason snaps could be important to Zac Taylor, especially considering this will be Collins’ first season in Cincinnati.

Collins is expected to be a huge improvement for the offensive line. The Bengals gave him a 3-year, $21 million deal with $5 million guaranteed.

Collins is projected to be the team’s starting right tackle. He played 12 games for Dallas last season and saw snaps in 15 or more in the three seasons prior. The 6-foot-4, 320-pound tackle is 29 years old.