Cedric Ogbuehi earns clean slate with Bengals
The Cincinnati Bengals began OTA workouts this week and offensive line coach Frank Pollack has given everyone a clean slate, including Cedric Ogbuehi.
The Cincinnati Bengals have taken the field at OTA workouts this week and new offensive line coach Frank Pollack has elected to give everyone on the line a clean slate this year. Everyone will have to opportunity to start over and compete for starting roles this offseason, including tackle Cedric Ogbuehi. Cincinnati denied picking up Ogbuehi’s fifth-year option which means if he doesn’t impress this season, he will likely become a free agent next offseason.
It’s been a rough couple seasons for the offensive line and Cincinnati made it a point this offseason to fix some of the issues. Trading for left tackle Cordy Glenn, signing right tackle Bobby Hart through free agency, and drafting center Billy Price in the first round for Frank Pollack to work with in 2018 is only the beginning. Pollack chose to start by giving everyone a clean slate in 2018.
“I told them Day 1 everyone here has a clean slate,” Pollack said. “What you have done in the past is really irrelevant to me … You can go from the penthouse to outhouse real quick. Hopefully, you go from the outhouse to penthouse just as fast, but it takes a lot of work.”
Pollack showed this by giving Ogbuehi snaps at both tackle positions on Tuesday and will also have him take snaps at guard. Cordy Glenn and Billy Price will take the center and left tackle positions while Clint Boling takes left guard. The right side of the line is wide open, however. Ogbuehi will have to show some versatility to earn a starting role this season. Pollack demands versatility along his offensive line.
On the right side of the line, Ogbuehi will have to impress Pollack significantly to earn a starting role in my opinion. With Jake Fisher and Bobby Hart already competing for right tackle, I don’t see him starting over both of them this season. Then there is the right guard spot where Christian Westerman, Alex Redmond, and Trey Hopkins are competing. All three showed flashes last season, especially in the final two games of the season which makes it a tough hill to climb for Ogbuehi.
Next: Will Tyler Boyd earn a starting role this offseason?
Regardless, it’s good to see Ogbuehi get a clean slate with his new offensive line coach. Always having the players competing for jobs creates the best at the position that season getting the starting job. Cincinnati desperately needs their offensive line to improve this season and with their offseason additions and Pollack working on developing these young products, we should see much better production in front of Andy Dalton come regular season.