Frank Pollack says Alex Cappa left Sunday’s practice with a ‘little strain’

Training camp is an important time of the year. It is a time to get players back into the swing of football motions on a field with other players prior to the season. That doesn’t make it important enough to have players work through possible injuries, though.

The Cincinnati Bengals have always taken a very cautious approach with injuries this time of year, and the most recent example of this is right guard Alex Cappa leaving Sunday’s practice with a strain, according to offensive line coach Frank Pollack.

Pollack simply described the injury as a strain with no specification on the side or part of the body. He did emphasize this was a “precautionary deal” and “no big deal.”

It wouldn’t be surprising if Cappa had some cramping in his calf or hamstring and tapped out. He also could have suffered an injury that could have him shelved for a handful of practices to make sure he is healthy for the season, but we simply do not know yet.

Cappa missed the entire playoffs after suffering an ankle injury in the regular season finale against the Baltimore Ravens last season. He was one of three big blows to the offensive line that also lost Jonah Williams and La’el Collins in consecutive weeks. His absence was felt as quarterback Joe Burrow spent most of the playoffs running for his life after facing consistent pressure.

That really shows why the team is probably okay with being so cautious with Cappa. We have seen what it’s like without him, and it’s not great.

A bigger note was Pollack did say that Trey Hill filled in nicely for the missing starter, which gives a boost to his stock of making the 53-man roster. Still, we’d rather have a year where Cappa gets to play in every game.