As a lot of fans were clamoring for, the Cincinnati Bengals reached an agreement with guard Dalton Risner on Monday. The one-year deal locks Risner in for the 2026 season, giving the Bengals a kind of continuity on the offensive line they haven’t had in the Zac Taylor era.
For the first time since Taylor arrived in 2019, all five of the starting offensive linemen from the previous season are set to return.
Riner made it clear that he wanted to stay in Cincinnati, Amarius Mims publicly stated he wanted Risner back, and fans online have been calling for this deal to get done for months. Those were all factors, but the biggest factor was likely franchise quarterback Joe Burrow.
“This deal wouldn’t have been done without guys like Joe Burrow. Joe Burrow pushed for me this whole offseason,“ Risner said.
For Burrow, it makes a lot of sense to use his influence to retain Risner, as 2025 was easily the best offensive line Burrow has played behind in his career, despite suffering a turf toe injury in Week 2 that had him sidelined until Thanksgiving. Risner was actually involved in that play and had to fight through being benched before regaining the starting right guard spot and never giving it back.
Risner also credited Mims, offensive line coach Scott Peters, and head coach Zac Taylor for pushing to get him back in Cincinnati, so it would appear that the locker room wanted this to happen as much as we, the fans, did.
Now, the Bengals can make their primary focus of the 2026 offseason the thing that needs the most help — their defense.
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