There’s no doubt that the 2026 season is going to be a vital one for the Cincinnati Bengals. With a wide-open AFC North and three-straight seasons without a playoff appearance, it’s time to turn things around.
It’s a situation where the Bengals players could be feeling a lot of pressure. At the same time, other Bengals players are looking forward to the challenge and are happy with where the team stands. Among those players is star offensive lineman Amarius Mims.
“I’m excited. I can’t speak for everybody else, but I’m very excited. We added some great pieces. Then we kept a lot of guys who we were with last year. I’m very excited because I know how explosive we are on the offensive side of the ball,” Mims recently said. “And then adding those pieces we had on defense, all you can do is just be excited for it and just be hopeful. We got those guys, man. Ain’t no telling what we can do. You never know what will be around in December going into January. It can be a whole different look from last year.”
Much of the focus this offseason for the Bengals has been addressing the defense. That’s allowed the offensive linemen and Mims to go under-the-radar as they work to develop and improve throughout the offseason.
Amarius Mims Was Excited for Dexter Lawrence to Join the Cincinnati Bengals
GettyNew York Giants defensive lineman Dexter Lawrence
Defensive line became a focus for the Cincinnati Bengals this offseason. That culminated in trading the No. 10 overall pick for defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence.
In a sense, that’s going to make things harder for the Bengals offensive line. They now have to go up against a Pro Bowl-caliber defensive lineman every day in practice. At the same time, the saying “iron sharpens iron” exists for a reason, and it’s an opportunity to keep getting better.
Amarius Mims had the chance to meet him. Immediately, he was impressed by how big and strong Lawrence is.
“I met him last night,” Mims said. “Went to dinner last night. I just shook his hand, and I’m a big dude. So, I shake his hand and I’m like, ‘Alright, big guy shake hands, kind of bring it in, like’ [he demonstrated the handshake]. I went backwards.”
That could be intimidating, but for Mims, it was exciting. The Bengals got better with that trade and are better off with him working in Cincinnati.
“I’m like, ‘Oh, man. Alright, alright.’ He’s a dude too,” Mims added. “So, I’m like, ‘Man, I’m happy he’s here.’ I’m glad we’re teammates and like I said, I feel bad for the opposing offensive lines more than us. We’ve got to practice against him. Don’t get me wrong. So, he can do some damage there, but I’d much rather be his teammate than go against him. I’m happy he’s here. We’re all excited about him, just trying to get better every day until the season starts. So, let’s get to work.”
Amarius Mims Was Given a License to Kill in 2026
GettyCincinnati Bengals offensive lineman Amarius Mims
For the sake of the offense, improving the offensive line to keep Joe Burrow healthier is vital. A big piece of that is seeing Amarius Mims continue to improve. That’s why Bengals offensive line coach Scott Peters gave him a license to kill this season.
“Total domination. It’s license to kill. I mean, seriously. I said last year, you’ve got to be greedy about how good you could be. Because, you know, there’s very few humans walking planet Earth that have the potential and the talent, really the talent that he has, and has the makeup that he has, the ability athletically, the physical stature, the size, the power, the strength, the movement skills, and for him, it’s time to really kind of let the world know,” Peters said.
“He’s got a license to kill. Hey, you know, sometimes when you’re a big guy growing up, everybody tells you, ‘Hey, don’t break anything. Hey, Amarius, break something man, let’s go. It’s time to go. You can push the limit. Man, we want to see what you can do.’ So he’s starting to see that, and I think that for him, just watching his ability shine through, and that’s when the game becomes a lot of fun for him.”
Time will tell how Mims improves going into 2026. It’s clear there’s excitement about him and coming from him for next year, though.
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