Bengals’ late free agency signings proved to be more important than advertised to exorcise their biggest demon
The new guys helped Week 1 go Cincinnati’s way.
What would the Cincinnati Bengals’ offense have looked like without tight end Noah Fant and right guard Dalton Risner?
Probably even worse than what it was in an ugly, but needed, 17-16 season-opening victory against the Cleveland Browns.
Fant caught four passes for 26 yards and the second and final touchdown of Cincinnati’s sporadic day in Cleveland. Risner entered the game early in the second quarter after starter Lucas Patrick left with a calf injury and looked like he had been a part of the unit since March.
Both players joined the roster late. Fant signed on the last day of July; Riser exactly four weeks later, just nine days away from Week 1. They entered the picture not a moment too soon.
Bengals get huge boosts from two of their newest players
Raise your hand if you predicted Fant would catch Joe Burrow’s first pass of the 2025 season. Okay, put down your hands, you liars.
Now raise your hand if you predicted Fant would also be the recipient of Burrow’s first touchdown. Seriously, stop lying to me.
Fant was billed as a yards-after-the-catch specialist who could find the yardage needed to move chains. His first reception proved exactly that as he turned a small gain into a first down. Burrow went back to him again later in the opening drive, but the pass fell incomplete. Target three was pay dirt, as Burrow found him in the back of the end zone on a crafty play action call on the goal line with backup offensive lineman Cody Ford in at fullback as a pre-snap trick.
Risner didn’t catch any touchdowns, but Pro Football Focus only charged him with one pressure allowed on 24 pass blocking snaps. To be thrown into the middle of the game, on the road in a hostile AFC North environment, and come out with your head above water is a big win for the 30-year-old.
Guard depth has been a critical issue for the Bengals in recent years, and Risner solved that as soon as he signed just a week-and-a-half ago. Patrick had been dealing with a calf injury going back to the start of training camp, and it popped up at an extremely inconvenient time. If he has to miss time beyond this week, they can at least feel comfortable about Risner taking over. He could just stay on the field even when (or if) Patrick gets his health back.
The rest of Cincinnati’s offense needs major work. Playing in two preseason games amid an intense camp clearly wasn’t enough for the unit to put together four quarters of passable football. The themes from recent years are still lurking over Burrow and Co. after the 28-year-old QB put together just 113 passing yards with an average of 4.9 yards per attempt.
But when the planning to start faster began months ago, Fant and Risner weren’t even in the picture.
A Week 1 win doesn’t have to be pretty; it just has to be 1-0. The Bengals’ front office and personnel department can pat themselves on the back for making two abnormally aggressive moves that ended up being way more important than anyone could’ve realized at the time.
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If the story of the Cincinnati Bengals centers around quarterback Joe Burrow and his star wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins, then tight ends of the offense have been a fascinating subplot. C.J. Uzomah was already here when Burrow was drafted, but he turned one three-year contract into another after shining during the 2021 […]
