Bengals: Gunner Vogel provides more competition on the offensive line

The Cincinnati Bengals are gearing up for training camp and their latest addition shows that they’re not content with the offensive line competition as it stood before now. That’s why they signed free agent offensive lineman Gunner Vogel to compete in training camp.

Vogel went undrafted and later signed with the Bears, according to the Bengals’ official website. He played in 25 games over the span of his five-year career at Northwestern with 18 of those being starts.

Northwestern’s website mentioned that Vogel started every game this past season and was effective in the run game.

"Started in every game for the Wildcats during senior season … Helped pave the way for 16 rushing touchdowns and a 162.8 rushing yards per game average … The Wildcats averaged 360.7 yards per game … 2021 NFF Hampshire Honor Society (maintained a 3.2 cumulative GPA throughout career)."

The Cincinnati Bengals signed Gunner Vogel.

While it’s great to see the team adding competition to the offensive line, I wouldn’t read too much into this one, Bengals fans. Unless Vogel really flourishes, he is a long shot to make the final roster. He went undrafted and was unsigned until now, so unless he truly is a hidden gem, his chances of being with this team long-term aren’t high.

He does have good size though (6’6″, 310 pounds), and played for a good program in college, which certainly helps his case. The Bengals had Austin Reiter in for a visit on Monday and as of now, we haven’t heard much else about that. Signing Vogel shouldn’t be where the Bengals stop as far as bringing in offensive line talent is concerned, as there are plenty of talented players still waiting to be signed.

Right now, the Bengals — like the other 31 teams in the league — are finding depth and bodies for camp and that’s what Vogel is. Maybe he gets some reps in the preseason and we see him play quite a bit during that time but he’s likely not with this team for the long haul.