Ex-Bengals $19 Million Starter Signs With NFC Contender

Cincinnati Bengals
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ORCHARD PARK, NY - SEPTEMBER 22: Bobby Hart #68 of the Cincinnati Bengals on the field before a game against the Buffalo Bills at New Era Field on September 22, 2019 in Orchard Park, New York. (Photo by Timothy Ludwig/Getty Images)

With a week left before the Cincinnati Bengals kick off their regular season against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, teams around the NFL have not stopped adding to their rosters in hopes of improving their depth before the season.

The Bengals are among those teams, as they have added their fair share of intriguing players that could potentially help solve some of their depth issues. Perhaps Cincinnati’s most glaring depth issue is on the offensive line, as the team is still figuring out who will be its swing tackle this season.

One former Cincinnati starter, who will not be rejoining the Bengals and competing for that slot, has recently been signed by the Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.


Former Cincinnati Bengals Starter Joins Seattle Seahawks

The Seattle Seahawks announced they had signed former Cincinnati Bengals tackle Bobby Hart to their practice squad.

Seahawks senior writer John Boyle wrote: “Hart, who came into the league as a seventh-round pick in 2015, signed with the Seahawks in June, and saw significant playing time in all three of Seattle’s preseason games. He was released on Sunday when the Seahawks reduced the roster to 53 players. Hart has appeared in 108 games with 75 starts in his career, spending time with the Giants, Bengals, Titans, Bills and Chargers.”

Hart joined the Bengals after being released by the New York Giants prior to the 2018 season. He then started all 16 games for Cincinnati in 2018, before signing a three-year, $16 million extension.

At the time, Hart’s extension was criticized as he struggled with penalties and overall below-average play. However, the tackle did end up starting 45 games for the Bengals before being released prior to the 2021 season.

Most recently, Hart started eight games for the Los Angeles Chargers last season. Hart earned a 50.2 overall Pro Football Focus grade in the 2025 season, 82nd among 89 qualified offensive tackles. After being drafted in the 2015 NFL Draft, Hart has totaled over $19 million in career earnings, according to Spotrac.


Cincinnati Bengals Current Offensive Line

Regarding Hart joining the Seahawks practice squad and Cincinnati’s current offensive line, Bengals Wire’s Chris Roling wrote: “Hart has continued to bounce around the NFL for the last decade. He’s been all over the league, including three different stints in Buffalo, and is now key depth for an NFC contender.

The Bengals, meanwhile, have finally stabilized in the offensive trenches, returning the same starting five linemen for the first time in the Joe Burrow era.”

Despite having some stability on the offensive line, the team’s unit was ranked 20th in the NFL by Pro Football Focus’ Gordon McGuinness. McGuinness wrote: “The Bengals’ offensive line was not a back-breakingly awful unit in the second half of the 2025 season. That was thanks to the emergence of rookie Dylan Fairchild at left guard and second-year right tackle Amarius Mims. Mims, in particular, took a huge stride forward in the second half of the year, with just one game with a PFF grade below 70.0 from Week 12 onward.”

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Ex-Bengals $19 Million Starter Signs With NFC Contender

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