The Cincinnati Bengals made sure to keep a key piece of their offensive line in place before free agency opened, agreeing to a one-year deal with right guard Dalton Risner on Monday.
The contract is worth up to $5 million, according to agents Drew Rosenhaus and Shawn O’Dare, who confirmed the terms to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Risner appeared in 14 games last season, starting nine at right guard — including each of the final seven contests. During that stretch, he provided stability in pass protection, finishing with a 92.6% pass block win rate. Among Bengals linemen in the National Football League era under head coach Zac Taylor (since 2019), that mark stands as the highest recorded.
Taylor made it clear at the NFL scouting combine that retaining Risner was a priority if the sides could reach common ground.
“I like Dalton a lot,” Taylor said. “We are in the business side of it right now. We continue to work through it. He did a great job for us last year and I liked being around him.”
Cincinnati’s improvement up front was noticeable late in the season. With Risner starting the final seven games, the Bengals climbed to 23rd in overall pass block win rate after ranking 29th through the first 11 weeks — a modest but meaningful step forward as the team looks to build continuity heading into the new league year.
