Bleacher Report says Bengals should replace Cordell Volson with Damien Lewis in 2024

The Cordell Volson experiment hasn't gone according to plan in 2023. That means the Cincinnati Bengals might be looking for a new left guard in 2024 and beyond. Bleacher Report thinks that Damien Lewis would be the perfect replacement.

"Experience is huge for offensive linemen. The Bengals are finding this out firsthand with Cordell Volson. The second-year player is doing just enough to remain a starter on this team, but he needs more seasoning before becoming a reliable starter. Damien Lewis is not a world-beater, but he has 51 starts in four seasons under his belt and has given up just one sack this season, per PFF."

- Bleacher Report

Volson was a fourth-round pick in the 2022 draft and shocked fans by beating out Jackson Carman for the starting left guard job. He looked decent as a rookie, notching an overall PFF grade of 51.6 and allowing five sacks during the regular season. He wasn't perfect but considering that he was a fourth-round rookie, fans were pleasantly surprised by his performance.

In year two, Volson has struggled, currently sitting with a 49.6 overall PFF grade and a paltry pass-blocking grade of 27.0 while surrendering three sacks in eight games. He has been the biggest weakness up front for Cincinnati and they need to look into replacing him next year if he doesn't show major improvements down the stretch.

Damien Lewis could be a replacement for Cordell Volson in 2024

This is where Bleacher Report suggests targeting Damien Lewis in free agency next spring. As the blurb above mentions, he's only given up one sack so far this season, and his PFF grade is 59.2 overall and 62.8 in pass-blocking. That is a massive improvement over Volson and could be the missing piece to the puzzle as far as the Bengals' offensive line issues are concerned.

If the Bengals were to bring someone else in to play left guard, Volson could still serve as a backup and then if an injury were to occur, it wouldn't be someone who has no idea what he's doing.

The Bengals tend to be loyal to their guys but they replaced Jonah Williams at left tackle last offseason and moving him to right tackle has benefitted everybody. Volson wouldn't be given a starting job if he were to be replaced but the Bengals' offensive line would be better with the addition of Lewis, there's no debating that.