Cincinnati Bengals head coach Zac Taylor provided an update on right guard Alex Cappa on Monday afternoon.
Cappa suffered an ankle injury in Cincinnati’s Week 18 win over Baltimore and was carted off the field before the team quickly ruled him out to return. Following the game in the locker room, Cappa was moving around on a scooter as he was unable to put any weight on his left leg.
It’s unlikely Cappa will play this weekend as the Bengals get ready to host the Ravens once again in the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs.
Analysis:What the Bengals face in AFC playoffs if Alex Cappa is out
“It will be tough this week,” Taylor said. “We’ll get more information on that today but it will be tough on him.”
Taylor was unable to say if it was a season-ending injury at this point.
With Cappa sidelined for at least one game, the Bengals will start Max Scharping.
Who is Max Scharping?
The Bengals added Scharping as one of three claims on the waiver wire right after the NFL’s 53-man cutdown deadline before Week 1. Cincinnati knew it needed to add depth to its offensive line ahead of the season.
Scharping, a 2019 second-round pick, played three seasons for the Texans and started 33 games during his tenure in Houston.
Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan said the team has full confidence in Scharping moving forward.
“We've got a lot of faith in Max (Scharping), that's why we signed him at the roster cutdown,” Callahan said. “He's been here all season and he did a nice job in the game, seeing him play live action for the first time, which is good. We felt like that's why we brought him in, that's why we paid a little bit of money for him too, to bring him in. That's an insurance policy you hope to not have to use, but here we are. If he's got to play, then he's got to play, and we're expecting him to play well."
After going through the playoffs last season with backups along the offensive line, the Bengals knew the value in adding a quality backup with experience. They have that with Scharping which makes the loss of Cappa a little easier to bare.
What losing Alex Cappa means to the Cincinnati Bengals
Losing Cappa will certainly impact the Bengals, especially considering the Bengals also lost their starting right tackle La’el Collins for the season.
Cappa was the first player the Bengals targeted in free agency and the first player they signed. He agreed to a four-year deal worth $40 million after spending two seasons blocking for Tom Brady in Tampa. The Bengals spent a combined $61 million on fixing the right side of their offensive line with the Cappa and Collins signings.
Callahan, Taylor and offensive line coach Frank Pollack will certainly be mindful of the right side of when putting their gameplan together but don’t expect wholesale changes.
The Bengals believe in who they put on the field and don’t want to stray from what has gotten this team to this point.
“We've got to go find a way to win three games to get to the Super Bowl,” Callahan said. “We're going to do the things we've done all year to try to get there."
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