Bengals 2025 Roster Breakdown: Cordell Volson finds himself with a tougher path to the 53-man roster

Bengals roster breakdown is back! During the 99 days leading up to Cincinnati's regular season opener against the Cleveland Browns, the player with the matching jersey number as days remaining will become the day's highlighted player.

67 days remain until the Bengals' first game of the 2025 season, and No. 67 Cordell Volson has become a more enticing topic of discussion in the last nine months.

Cordell Volson

Age: 26
Year: 4th
Position: Guard
College: North Dakota State
Previous Teams: None
Jersey Number: 67

Volson enters his fourth season with the Bengals after being drafted 136th overall in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He played five seasons at NDSU from 2017-21 following his redshirt year in 2016, appearing in a school-record 65 games and making 41 starts to end his collegiate career. He repped at least one snap at all five offensive line positions for the Bison, but 77% of his snaps were at right tackle and 94% were right of the center. 

Cincinnati envisioned a move to left guard for Volson as a rookie, and he won the starting job over Jackson Carman. He held the spot without any real competition for two full years before he was benched for Cody Ford in Week 13 of the 2024 season. Injuries at offensive tackle moved Ford out of the position and allowed Volson to start four more games to end the season, but the message was sent. Volson's troubles in pass protection from three years of starting were catching up to him.  

The Bengals could've released Volson this offseason, but instead offered him a pay cut to stay throughout the offseason. Volson accepted and is now looking to earn back a starting gig if the opportunity arises. 

Contract Details

Volson renegotiated the final year of his rookie contract and had his Proven Performance Escalator (PPE) removed. His contract is now a one-year, $2.6 million deal. It includes a $500,000 signing bonus, a $1.5 million base salary, $600,000 in per game roster bonuses, and $375,000 in Likely To Be Earned (LTBE) incentives. The incentives raises his potential cash earnings to $2.975 million, but the base value remains at $2.6 million.

When adding on his original signing bonus proration of $164,220, Volson's salary cap hit for the 2025 season is $3,139,220.

Roster Outlook

If the season were to start now, Volson would be on the bench or off the team entirely. His spot at LG is held by rookie third-round pick Dylan Fairchild, and a competition at RG is being held without him as Ford and free agent signing Lucas Patrick are battling it out. 

Is there room for a relatively expensive reserve who was ousted as a starter a year ago? That's a question for new o-line coach Scott Peters. Volson's motivation for sticking around with a smaller salary was to learn from Peters' coaching. New teachings could come in handy if the Bengals need to lean on Volson as an emergency backup. He could even be moved to tackle where he played for most of his college days.

Cincinnati has options with Volson, but his chances of making the 53-man roster are not nearly as strong as it was last year.

Roster odds: 55%
Projected role: Reserve interior offensive lineman

Previous Player Profiles

• No. 99: Myles Murphy
• No. 98: T.J. Slaton Jr.
• No. 97: Shemar Stewart
• No. 96: Cam Sample
• No. 95: Howard Cross III
• No. 94: Eric Gregory
• No. 93: McKinnley Jackson
• No. 92: B.J. Hill
• No. 91: Trey Hendrickson
• No. 90: Kris Jenkins Jr.
• No. 89: Drew Sample
• No. 88: Mike Gesicki
• No. 87: Tanner Hudson
• No. 86: Kole Taylor
• No. 85: Cam Grandy
• No. 84: Tanner McLachlan
• No. 83: Erick All Jr.
• No. 82: Mitchell Tinsley
• No. 81: Jermaine Burton
• No. 80: Andrei Iosivas
• No. 79: Andrew Coker
• No. 77: Caleb Etienne
• No. 76: Devin Cochran
• No. 75: Orlando Brown Jr.
• No. 74: Jalen Rivers
• No. 73: Andrew Stueber
• No. 71: Amarius Mims
• No. 69: Dante Barnett
• No. 68: Seth McLaughlin