When it comes the Cincinnati Bengals and roster transactions, they generally get most things right, but it's often with a clichéd caveat: Better late than never.
You will seldom see a front office drag its collective feet or be less proactive about seemingly no-brainer personnel decisions more so than the Bengals' brain trust. Again, though — credit where it's due. In the wake of rather needless and big-picture trivial offseason drama, they often make the proper calls.
Alas, some of the belated and half-measure actions Cincinnati took leading up to the 2025 season have come to a head at a critical position. Head coach Zac Taylor's press conference on Wednesday underscored the lack of urgency that has mirrored the franchise's annual slow starts.
Zac Taylor announces Lucas Patrick as Bengals starter at right guard
Multiple boots-on-the-ground reporters, including ESPN's Ben Baby, posted the news that Lucas Patrick will proceed as the starting right guard for Week 1's AFC North tilt against the Cleveland Browns.
Although rookie swing tackle Jalen Rivers showed promise when the Bengals gave him some run at right guard, it wasn't enough to unseat Patrick, a bargain-bin free-agent addition. Nor was the recent signing of stalwart pass protector Dalton Risner.
Why it took until late August for Cincinnati to realize Patrick, you know, probably wasn't the season-long answer at the clear weak spot on a perpetually embattled offensive line evades any standard logic. From the first drive of the preseason, fans were calling for Patrick to ride the pine.
It's not like Patrick is some total disaster, and of course, preseason overreactions are commonplace across the NFL for any football-starved fan base. At the same time, doesn't it speak volumes that many assumed Risner could eclipse Patrick as the starter on only two weeks' notice before the 2025 campaign began?
My thinking is that Risner relegates Patrick to backup duty within the first few weeks of the season. Coach Taylor has a 1-11 record in Weeks 1 and 2, but it does help that the Bengals face the Browns and Jaguars in those games. Cleveland is in full rebuild mode, while Jacksonville is adjusting to a new coaching staff led by Liam Coen.
Week 3 seems like the ideal time for Risner to enter the fray against his former team, the Minnesota Vikings. By then, he should have the playbook down cold, and his presumably superior play to Patrick will be needed against that Brian Flores-coordinated, exotic Vikings defense.
Speaking of Minnesota, I couldn't help but notice the tremendous job they've done to surround young quarterback JJ McCarthy with the best supporting cast money can buy.
JJ McCarthy literally has the greatest supporting cast in NFL history. How does it get better than this? pic.twitter.com/3GYclwHwlX
— vikesinsider (@vikesinsider) August 27, 2025
It helps a ton that McCarthy is only on the second year of his rookie contract. Talk about big cost savings.
I can't help but wonder, however, what could've been if the Bengals were that aggressive in their efforts to protect Joe Burrow in his prior two postseason appearances — especially during the run to Super Bowl LVI. Or even when he was a rookie, when he suffered a career-threatening knee injury. Perhaps a Lombardi Trophy would've been paraded through Cincinnati by now.
Anyway, saying all this to say, I think the Bengals will be just fine with Patrick at right guard for a game or two. What can also be true is the fact that Risner — other teams' bizarre lack of interest notwithstanding — was the more self-evident upgrade back when Patrick was signed in March.
Health permitting, the Bengals should have the best o-line of the Burrow era once Risner makes his expected rise to the RG1 spot. It's just a bit of a bummer that Who Dey Nation has to once again exercise patience and be on edge until that becomes a reality.