Bengals 2025 Roster Breakdown: Jalen Rivers will showcase great value if his injury history stays history

Bengals roster breakdown is back! During the 99 days leading up to Cincinnati's regular season opener against the Cleveland Browns, the player with the matching jersey number as days remaining will become the day's highlighted player.74 days remain until the Bengals' first game of the 2025 season, and No. 74 Jalen Rivers can make Cincinnati's […]

John Sheeran — Cincinnati Bengals News Writer
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Mar 2, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Miami offensive lineman Jalen Rivers (OL34) during the 2025 NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium.
© Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Bengals roster breakdown is back! During the 99 days leading up to Cincinnati's regular season opener against the Cleveland Browns, the player with the matching jersey number as days remaining will become the day's highlighted player.

74 days remain until the Bengals' first game of the 2025 season, and No. 74 Jalen Rivers can make Cincinnati's offensive line better.

Jalen Rivers

Age: 22
Year: Rookie
Position: Offensive tackle
College: Miami (Fl.)
Previous Teams: None 
Jersey Number: 74

Rivers enters his first season in the NFL after being drafted 153rd overall in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft. He was a Week 1 starter at either left tackle or left guard for four years at Miami, but he only ended up starting 31 games due to a variety of injuries in three of those seasons. A right knee injury took him out of nine games in 2021, a right leg injury caused three missed games in 2022, and an unspecified injury sidelined him another five games in 2024.

Durability concerns helped Rivers fall to the middle of Day 3 in the draft, but versatility put him on the Bengals' radar. On top of playing LG during his first two years of starting to LT in his lone full season of starting, Miami had Rivers alternate between the two positions during his final seven games of 2024. Consistently switching positions throughout games for an offensive lineman is very rare, but it sets him up to become a dependable backup at multiple spots. . .if he doesn't become a starter, that is.

Contract Details

Rivers signed his four-year, $4,620,988 rookie contract in May. He's already earning a signing bonus of $420,988 this year and can earn a base salary of $840,000 this season. 

When adding on his signing bonus proration of $105,247, Rivers' salary cap hit for the 2025 season is $945,247. 

Roster Outlook

Rivers might be the wild card of Cincinnati's o-line this year. He's starting out as Orlando Brown Jr.'s backup at LT, giving him one position to focus on as a rookie. He's got a great chance of being the first tackle off the bench when the season begins, but his experience both inside and outside will eventually become valuable.

If the battle at right guard between Cody Ford and Lucas Patrick turns for the worst and neither option is particularly worthy of winning, what's to prevent Rivers from showing what he's got? If not for injury, Rivers deserved to be drafted a bit earlier due to his college tape being squeaky clean. He's got an argument for being one of the five best linemen on the roster right now.

The most realistic outlook is Rivers will be tested as a second-stringer and needs to hold up physically throughout camp and the preseason. Once he's proven to hold up and any injury concerns become dated, he may then enter the discussion to start if an opportunity exists.

Projected role: Reserve offensive tackle

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