Bengals possible right guard solution is off the board, leaving one no-brainer option

All of us ardent Cincinnati Bengals followers can say it until we're blue in our faces all we want. Until the front office takes action, the team will enter the 2025 season with a massive question mark at the right guard position.

Bargain bin free agent Lucas Patrick hasn't exactly lit it up during training camp, nor did he in the preseason opener, when his 15-yard chop block penalty wiped out a would-be touchdown. Cody Ford ain't much of a superior alternative.

So where does Cincinnati go from here? Just cross-train a bunch of dudes on the roster and hope somebody emerges as the clear-cut starter? That appears to be Plan A, despite options still available outside the building.

Well, I say "options", but after some recent news on a viable potential starter the Bengals could've acquired, there's really only one man who can come to the rescue in the Queen City.

With Brandon Scherff retired, Dalton Risner is clear upgrade for Bengals RG spot

I've been beating the drum about Brandon Scherff all offseason long. He's a five-time Pro Bowler who didn't miss a single start over the last three years. Alas, a random Twitter search earlier today led me to an obscure tweet about Scherff retiring, which then led me to this story from HawkeyeSports.com.

In an otherwise standard story about Scherff being inducted into the Iowa Athletics Hall of Fame, writer John Bohnenkemp scored a major scoop maybe without even realizing it. It's casually stated between Scherff's final quote of the piece that he "retired from playing this summer."

Umm...that's news to those of us NFL fans who are in dire need of a starting right guard, John!

So with Scherff out of the picture — barring an unforeseen change of heart about retirement — and with Will Hernandez re-signing with the Arizona Cardinals last week, it's a no-brainer who the Bengals should at least bring in for a visit.

His name is Dalton Risner. And allow me to cede to Joe Goodberry for some insight as to why Risner would be such a boon to the Bengals' pass blocking unit:

It stings so much when your favorite team has such a seemingly obvious personnel move to make, yet doesn't move a muscle towards making that a reality.

We're talking about a former second-round pick out of Kansas State who's strung together multiple years of high-level play. Certainly better than anyone on the current Cincinnati roster can claim. Is Risner, like, a locker room cancer or something? How is he still out on the NFL streets without a team?

These are purely speculative questions that beg answers. The Bengals must give Risner the highest consideration and at least have some willingness to cast aside any quirks or whatever Risner's flaws are. Because from a pure football standpoint, he represents real potential as the cure for what ails this Cincinnati offensive line.

At the risk of repeating myself ad nauseam, I can't share this data from Warren Sharp enough:

Other than making sure the defense takes a genuine step forward and signing Trey Hendrickson to an extension, the best thing the Bengals can do for themselves in 2025 is further fortify their protection for Joe Burrow. That's where Risner could easily come in and upgrade a critical weak point on the roster.

Do the right thing, Duke Tobin. Take a real look at Risner and tell the fan base with a straight face that he couldn't beat out anyone in Bengals camp after about a week to digest the playbook. I mean you can tell us that, but we know you'd be fibbing.

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