CINCINNATI — The Bengals are hosting veteran guard Dalton Risner for a visit on Tuesday. The former second round pick could help bring stability for an offensive line that is hoping to protect Joe Burrow this season.
Risner clearly understood the assignment—at least from a public relations perspective. His wife posted a video of him getting ready to travel to Cincinnati.
“Outchea… Who Dey?!” Risner said with bags in his hand.
Risner would give the Bengals a proven right guard. Lucas Patrick has left a lot to be desired throughout training camp and the first two preseason games.
“I think that’s still a work in progress, to see how it all shakes out, who ends up where,” head coach Zac Taylor said before Monday night’s preseason game against the Commanders. “A lot of guys have battled through injuries, so you’re missing guys for a couple of days. You’re missing a guy for a game. So I think we have to continue to work through that and see how it shakes out.”
Cordell Volson (shoulder) and Cody Ford were both out on Monday night. They’re still evaluating Volson’s injury. Meanwhile, Ford should be back in the near future.
“I wouldn’t say serious injury,” Taylor said of Ford. “I didn’t see any reason to play him tonight through that injury. I think if it was a game he would have been available. He definitely would have played. So, it’s better to just let him rehab through.”
Patrick also appeared to suffer an injury on Monday night. Jalen Rivers took a team-high 49 snaps on offense—including reps with the first-team offense.
“That wasn’t necessarily the plan,” Taylor said. “That’s something we’ve talked about over time. You know, I think [G] Lucas [Patrick] is a little dinged up right now, so we’ll assess where he is at. That’s really what happened there.”
Getting a deal done with Risner would be a big step toward solidifying an offensive line that has some promising pieces.
From Orlando Brown Jr. to Amarius Mims and rookie Dylan Fairchild. There’s reason to believe this unit can be the best of Burrow’s NFL career. Ted Karras is as steady as they come.
Despite that quartet, the right guard spot has stuck out throughout training camp. Maybe that issue will be solved on Tuesday.
