Clint Boling Gets Five-Year/$26 Million Deal

Aug 24, 2014; Glendale, AZ, USA; Cincinnati Bengals guard Clint Boling (65) against the Arizona Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

It’s being reported that the Bengals have retained left guard Clint Boling on a five-year deal worth $26 million dollars.

Bengals and OL Clint Boling reached agreement on a five-year, $26 million deal, per source.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 11, 2015

This is a solid win for both Clint Boling and the Bengals. After Mike Iupati signed a five-year deal worth nearly $40 million with the Cardinals, getting Boling back on an average of $5 million per season is a win, yet seems appropriate.

The deal ensures that the Bengals will retain their starting offensive line heading into 2015. The line proved to be one of the NFL’s best last year allowing Andy Dalton to stay clean for much of the 2014 campaign.

More than this, Clint Boling’s retention means Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard will have a better understanding of what to expect from their blockers. Clint Boling in particular proved to be a very capable blocker in space, often effectively pulling on power running plays. Hue Jackson will be particularly excited about his return.

The reasonable salary behind Boling’s return also ensures the Bengals, when divvying out pay amongst positions, won’t likely have to reconsider signing other members of the line; Kevin Zeitler, Andre Smith, and Andrew Whitworth are all free agents in 2016.

Retaining Clint Boling means the Bengals have now retained all three of their own top free agents: Boling, Rey Maualuga, and Mike Nugent. There are still a handful of role players to go, i.e. Taylor Mays and Cedric Peerman, so it’ll be interesting to see what the Bengals do going forward both with their own and on the open market.

Stay tuned for updates regarding Nick Fairley‘s visit to the Queen City.

Next: Nick Fairley Visiting Queen City

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