Risner had visited Aug. 19 but still had other options to sort through before landing on Cincinnati as the best fit. He likely slides into the still unsettled right guard spot, where Lucas Patrick and Cody Ford were battling in training camp.
“I’ve been here eight hours, I came on a visit, but I can tell you in that short amount of time the way this locker room is, and conversations with … the whole offensive line room, it’s just somewhere I want to be,” Risner said after practice. “Whether it’s the blue-collar feel, the family feel, the organization feels tight-knit, loyal, and it’s an organization that wins football games. It’s just somewhere you want to be. I’m really grateful to be here. I have a quote, ‘When you’re grateful for what you have, you have everything you need.’ I’m really grateful to be here, I don’t need a thing more.”
In a corresponding move to make room for Risner on the 53-man roster, the Bengals waived rookie undrafted defensive tackle Eric Gregory, who was the 11th defensive lineman on the team.
The Bengals also, on Thursday, signed offensive tackle Javon Foster, a fourth-round pick of the Jaguars in 2024, and safety Russ Yeast, who was with the Rams in 2022-23 and the Panthers last year, to their practice squad. They released offensive tackle Devin Cochran from the practice squad, which is now one spot shy of the 16-player limit.
Risner is a seventh-year player who originally was a second-round draft pick of the Denver Broncos in 2019. He spent his first four seasons in Denver but was with the Vikings the past two years, on a pair of one-year deals, and he has played in 87 career regular-season games with 81 starts — 73 at left guard and eight at right guard, all last season.
Bengals coach Zac Taylor didn’t want to commit to where Risner would slide in except to note it would be at guard, but the addition gives him another experienced option.
Credit: AP
Credit: AP
“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. … 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 said the Bengals didn’t have to sell him much on the idea of playing for them. During his visit, they had him work out to make sure he was in good enough shape to help out, and he was impressed to see owner Mike Brown and director of player personnel Duke Tobin both there.
That gave him the feeling it was “a family affair,” and then he received a lot of “love from Who Dey Nation,” as well.
“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,” Risner said.
Risner said there was a lot of “back and forth” discussions after his visit, and he wanted to take time to weigh the other options, but he felt like this was where he wanted to be all along. He joked that he would have loved to say that was the case four or five months ago. It wasn’t an option then.
After going through free agency ahead of last year and not signing until the end of May 2024, Risner was hoping to avoid that experience this offseason. Instead, it dragged out even longer. Now he hopes he doesn’t have to do it again next year, if he can prove himself with the Bengals.
“I wouldn’t recommend it to anybody,” Risner said when asked about that process. “Really unfortunate how it’s ended up like that the last couple years for me, and you never want to get labeled as a guy that wants to stay on the market, and I want to make it very clear that it’s not my intention ever. It’s just the business side of things that get tough so let’s hope I can kick some serious butt with the Cincinnati Bengals and I don’t even have to hit that thing called free agency in March.”
Risner said it all starts this weekend while the rest of the team is off. He didn’t go through a grueling training camp like the other players did, so he plans to keep working and studying the playbook so he is ready Monday when the Bengals return from the break to begin the first game week.
Taylor said it’s not unrealistic to think Risner could be ready to go Week 1 at Cleveland on Sept. 7. Risner plans to do what he can to be prepared, and he hopes to put the work in to earn the respect of everyone in the room.
“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.”
About the Author