Cincinnati Bengals Officially Sign Dalton Risner to Help Protect Joe Burrow

It's official. The Bengals officially signed veteran guard Dalton Risner.

Risner is in the building and will practice with the team on Thursday. He worked out for the team last week and decided to sign with Cincinnati on Wednesday.

Risner joins a guard group that includes Lucas Patrick and rookie Jalen Rivers. With Cordell Volson (shoulder) out for the season, Cincinnati was hoping to bolster the interior of their offensive line.

The 30-year-old has made 81 regular season starts and played over 5,000 snaps during his six-year NFL career. He hasn't allowed a sack since 2022 according to Pro Football Focus (25 games).

“He's going to help us a ton,” Orlando Brown Jr. told Joe Danneman of FOX 19. “Everybody knows what he's done in the league, man. Honestly, even in college, from what I remember, I think he went to Kansas State, right? Yeah, yeah. So, I'm a little familiar with his game. He's been that guy. So, you know, I look forward to meeting him, man, and being able to get to working with him here”

Brown hadn't met Risner in person until Thursday. The same goes for the rest of the offensive line room.

Bengals head coach Zac Taylor declined to name a starting at right guard when asked about the position on Tuesday.

"Another veteran player that's performed well," Taylor said on Thursday. "It's good to get a veteran in here that's playing a lot of winning football.

Taylor confirmed the plan is to play Risner at guard, but wouldn't confirm that he'd get reps at right guard. That's the lone starting job on offense that is still up in the air with the regular season opener 10 days away.

Risner may not start right away, but he gives the Bengals valuable depth at a key position.

The Bengals waived defensive tackle Eric Gregory to make room for Risner on the 53-man roster.