The Cincinnati Bengals received a devastating injury update on Friday. According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, the “initial belief” is that offense tackle D'Ante Smith will miss the entire 2024 campaign after suffering an injury Thursday.
“Initial belief is #Bengals OT D'Ante Smith will miss the 2024 season with a patellar tendon injury, per source. MRI results to confirm the exact nature of injury. Smith went down in Thursday's joint practice with the #Bears on Thursday,” Fowler wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
The Bengals offensive line has been a question mark in recent years. Quarterback Joe Burrow has not always had consistent offensive line protection since getting drafted by Cincinnati. Burrow has dealt with injury concerns in his NFL career. He's only played in 11 or more games twice in his four NFL seasons so far, so upgrading the offensive line has been a priority for the Bengals. Losing Smith certainly will not help the situation.
Bengals' 2024 offensive line outlook
The Bengals' offensive line is looking to take a step forward in 2024. Orlando Brown Jr., Cordell Volson, Ted Karras, Alex Cappa and Trent Brown may represent Cincinnati's starting five. If they can find a way to limit hits on Burrow, perhaps the QB will enjoy not just a healthy season, but an MVP-caliber campaign.
Burrow features elite potential. He is arguably one of the best quarterbacks in the entire NFL when healthy.
He is remembered as one of the best LSU football players ever. And if he limits his injuries moving forward, Burrow will probably become one of the greatest Bengals players of all-time.
At the moment, Joe Burrow and the Bengals are focused on preparing for the upcoming 2024 season. They may look to add extra depth to the offensive line following D'Ante Smith's injury. He will be missed throughout the entire 2024 campaign.
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