Bengals Free Agent Profile: Cordell Volson’s lost 2025 season won’t do him any favors on the open market

Cordell Volson’s preseason injury helped him stay in Cincinnati last year, but he will likely need a new home this year.

John Sheeran — Cincinnati Bengals News Writer

Feb 24, 2026 11:30 AM EST

We’re getting closer and closer to NFL free agency, and the Cincinnati Bengals have 16 players with expiring contracts. Who will re-sign with the team, and who will leave when the 2026 league year begins? We’ll go through all impending free agents before the madness begins.

The final free agent the Bengals are deciding on has been with the club since their last playoff appearance, but the last 14 months have not been kind to his NFL future.

Cordell Volson

Position: Guard
Age for 2027 Season: 28
Incoming NFL Year: 5th
Previous AAV: $2.6 million
2026 Snap %: 0%

Cordell Volson was originally drafted Cincinnati in the fourth round of the 2022 NFL Draft. He came as a competitor to start at left guard and won the training camp battle over 2021 second-rounder Jackson Carman. Volson held onto the starting LG gig for nearly three full years before being benched for Cody Ford late in the 2024 season.

Volson returned in the 2025 offseason looking to win the right guard job after Dylan Fairchild was drafted as the new starting LG. He suffered a season-ending shoulder injury late in the preseason, forcing him to go on the Reserve/Injured list for the entire regular season.

Contract History and Projection

Volson’s original four-year, $4,316,880 rookie contract was renegotiated last year. He was set to earn a a salary bump from $1.1 million to $3.656 million thanks to the Proven Performance Escalator (PPE) program as a mid-round pick that has played a large percentage of team snaps. The Bengals re-worked the deal, making it a one-year, $2.6 million deal, and effectively cut his pay by a $1 million.

Spotrac.com’s calculated market value for Volson is a one year, $1,420,521 deal. His projected Average Annual Value (AAV) would rank 62nd among NFL guards.

Prediction

Volson was on track to missing the cut last year before his injury, and not playing an entire year while the team found two answers at guard does not do well for his value. A past offensive line coach drafted him. His pay was cut a year ago.

All signs point to his time in the Queen City ending unless he’s okay with returning on a minimum deal as a reserve.