CINCINNATI (AP) — The Bengals signed veteran offensive guard Dalton Risner on Thursday, and coach Zac Taylor said that there’s “absolutely” a chance that Risner will be active when the Bengals face the Cleveland Browns on Sept. 7.
”(He’s) another veteran player who has performed well during his time in the league,” Taylor said. “The timing is good to get him in here a week before the game and see where he’s at. We’ll see the timing of getting him out here at practice. It’s good to get a veteran in here who has played a lot of winning football and get him in the mix there in the O-Line.”
Risner, a six-year veteran, has made 81 starts and played for the Denver Broncos and Minnesota Vikings. He started a postseason game for the Vikings last January, but he was not re-signed by the team.
Risner was on the free agent market all summer and did not spend training camp with a team.
“There were offers out there, but you weigh your options and you compare contracts,” Risner said. “You’re not going to be in the NFL forever, so you want to always weigh your options and see what type of contracts are being offered to you and your agent and make the decision from there. But, as soon as I kind of felt like that’s where things were at, I was like, ‘Man, let’s go to Cincinnati.‘”
The Bengals still haven’t announced their right guard for Week 1. Cordell Volson was expected to be the starter, but is out for the season due to a shoulder injury.
The competition has included veterans Lucas Patrick and Cody Ford, who have been backups for significant portions of their careers, and fifth-round rookie Jalen Rivers.
Risner now gives the Bengals another option at that position.
“I’m a competitor,” Risner said. “I came here to help the Cincinnati Bengals in whatever role that is. If I’m active Week 1, let’s go. This isn’t an off weekend for me. I didn’t go through four or five weeks of training camp. I’ve been grinding, so I take a lot of pride in the shape I’m in. But let’s be honest, these guys just got done with a five-week grind and OTAs, so they deserve a couple of days off. I’ll be in my playbook getting right so I can help the team prepare for the Cleveland Browns.”
Before the Bengals signed Risner, the team only had eight offensive linemen on the 53-man roster. Teams typically carry nine or 10. The Bengals’ offensive line depth struggled during training camp. Instead of placing a backup who didn’t perform well during the summer on the 53-man roster, the Bengals picked up Risner.
The 30-year-old is excited about the opportunity in front of him.
“They didn’t have to sell me very much at all,” Risner said. “That’s not really the NFL either. These guys are going to show you what they’re made of, they’re going to show you the way they build the organization. From the way I went to a workout and they had the owner there and the GM, all these guys, you could see right away this was a family affair. The love I’ve gotten from Who Dey Nation, really happy to be here. And when you look at all the options, at the end of the day, it came down to I want to be in Cincinnati.”
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AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Charlie Goldsmith, The Associated Press
