Bengals Not Viewing Season Opener as Deadline to Answer Right Guard Question

CINCINNATI – The Cincinnati Bengals will release their first official depth chart of the regular season Tuesday, but they still could be days away from deciding who will start at right guard Week 1in Cleveland.

Lucas Patrick has handled the majority of the first team reps since OTAs, but he’s also dealt with injuries and was replaced by rookie Jalen Rivers in the Aug. 18 preseason game at Washington.

And the Bengals signed veteran Dalton Risner on Wednesday.

“We're gonna go through the week,” Pitcher said when asked about the starter at right guard. “We feel comfortable with all of those guys. We'll see where we end up. But I'm comfortable with whoever rolls out there Snap 1, on top of whoever is behind whoever rolls out there Snap 1.

“I feel like we're in a good place there.”

Though Risner is a six-year veteran with 81 career starts, it may not be realistic to expect him to be up to speed with the offense after just 10 days and five practices.

At least in terms of starting.

But Pitcher sounded as though there won’t be any hesitation if a situation arises where they need to turn to him at some point Sunday.

“He’s doing a great job trying to get himself in that spot and prove that if we need to call on him that he will be ready,” Pitcher said. “He was here for one practice this week. He’ll have this week of preparation.

“He’s a veteran. He’s played a lot of football,” Pitcher added. “Smart, aware. That jumps off the tape. I think he will put himself in position that should we need him he would be able to play.”

Risner had opportunities to sign elsewhere, so his decision to play for the Bengals likely came with an assurance that he would get an opportunity to battle for the job despite the late start.

Because the season opener is hardly the finish line when it comes to answering the question at right guard.

It could – and likely will – be a battle that continues through the first month of the season.

“Absolutely,” Pitcher agreed. “We’ve gotten a lot of really good feedback – training camp practice feedback, preseason feedback. There is no feedback like regular season game feedback.

“Shame on us if we say we are set in stone on anything,” he added. “That’s certainly an area we will continue to evaluate and take the new information as we get it.”