Former Bengals Offensive Lineman Retires From NFL

A former Bengals Super Bowl starter is retiring from the NFL.

Hakeem Adeniji is hanging up his cleats after five seasons in the NFL. He played his first three with the Bengals and started on the Super Bowl LVI team before playing the past two with Dallas and Minnesota. He was slated to play for Baltimore this coming season, but opted to call it a career.

Adeniji started eight regular-season games during the AFC title season in 2021 and was the main right guard throughout the playoffs, nearly resulting in Cincinnati's first Super Bowl title.

"He's smart, he's physical, he plays with great athleticism and power. I think he's been a great addition to the inside," Taylor said about Adeniji in 2021.

Former Bengals center Trey Hopkins enjoyed playing with the now-retired swing lineman.

"He does a great job listening to the older guys, does a great job taking the stuff seriously and owning his craft," Hopkins said during that magical season. "He has some great lateral quickness and very good feet. If you're on the receiving end of a punch, he has a pretty strong punch too."

Adeniji finishes his career with 55 career appearances in the regular season, including nine with the Bengals.

Cincinnati is trying to field the best offensive line it's ever had this coming season.

“There’s a lot of experience there,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said last week. “From a communication standpoint, that’s something that sometimes early in seasons gets you some sacks with overall communication because you have a revolving door at a position or you have new guys at a position. Now, that excuse does not exist for us.”

He wants to end the narrative that Cincinnati can't protect Joe Burrow.

“Sometimes nationally, there’s a really lazy narrative that our offensive line isn’t very good because they look at years ago and some issues we had,” Taylor said. “That has not been the case for us. These guys have performed as well as any unit in the league.”

Cincinnati is bringing back all five starters from last season as they lean on continuity, something Adeniji didn't get the luxury of very often as he rounds out a five-season career in the NFL.