The Cincinnati Bengals ended a disappointing season with a 20-18 loss to the Cleveland Browns. Cincinnati missed the postseason for a third consecutive season and had its worst record since the 2020 season.
Despite this, Bengals president Mike Brown opted to retain general manager Duke Tobin and head coach Zac Taylor for the 2026 season. In a statement Brown released, he said, “I am confident that Duke Tobin and Zac Taylor are the right leaders to guide us forward. They have proven they can build and lead teams that compete for championships. We trust their plans and expect to return to our desired level of success.”
Tobin will continue to be in charge of personnel decisions, which includes making decisions on the team’s upcoming free agents.
Bengals Could Lose Key Offensive Lineman
Prior to the 2025 season, the Bengals signed right guard Dalton Risner to a one-year, $1.3 million deal. Risner outperformed his contract as he started 11 games for the Bengals, including the last seven weeks of the season. After the season, Bengals’ 2024 first-round right tackle Amarius Mims spoke positively about playing alongside Risner. He said, “I want him to be my right guard as long as I’m here, I think he’s the best right guard in the NFL.” When asked about the praise Mims had for him, Risner said, “That’s super kind man, I don’t know about the best right guard in the league, but he’s definitely on his way to being one of the best right tackles in the NFL.”
Despite the Bengals’ disappointing season, Risner ended up being one of the positives for Cincinnati in 2025. However, after his one-year deal, he’s set to be a free agent this season. While speaking with Damon Hoard on the Bengals Booth Podcast, Risner was asked about the possibility of returning to Cincinnati in 2026. He said, “I would probably say 50-50. I have no inkling on whether it’s going to get done or not. I want to, but at the same time, I think it needs to be a fair deal for both sides. And I know that the deal I’m willing to sign is a fair deal for them. I just hope that they can work with me to make it a fair deal on my end because this is where I want to be.”
Additionally, despite saying that Cincinnati is where he wants to be, he added that, “That doesn’t mean that I’m going to jeopardize the year and the ability to support my family and my family’s family in that way.”
Dalton Risner’s Performance
Despite the high praise by Amarius Mims, Risner was likely not the best right guard in the NFL as he did not earn any accolades for his performance this season. Pro Football Focus graded him as the 26th best guard in the NFL with a 69.4 overall grade. He ranked in the top-25 in both pass blocking and run blocking.
His two sacks allowed in 2025 ranked him 22nd among 81 qualified guards in the league. Replacing a quality guard in the NFL is not easy, especially one that played at a high-level at a cheap price. It remains to be seen whether Duke Tobin manages to reach an agreement with Risner, but a reunion would likely be in the best interest for both parties involved in this situation.
Bengals Face Uncertain Future With Key Free Agent