Bengals take the first step in figuring out who will take care of their biggest roster problem before the season begins
The Cincinnati Bengals’ first roster cut is veteran backup offensive lineman Cody Ford. Cincinnati releasing Ford now confirms he was no longer part of the equation with its offensive line.
The Cincinnati Bengals’ first roster cut is veteran backup offensive lineman Cody Ford.
Ford was released by the Bengal Monday afternoon. Coach Zac Taylor told reporters the timing of the move was to help Ford.
“Give him a head start on the whole process, I thought was the right thing to do.” Taylor said during Monday’s press conference. “I’ll always think back to Cody. He served a lot of roles for us.”
Ford will now have six days of finding a new team before a wave of players around the league become available following the 53-man roster deadline Sunday evening. Cincinnati releasing him now confirms he was no longer part of the equation with its offensive line.
Bengals officially move on from Cody Ford after three years
The Bengals signed Ford as a free agent during the 2023 offseason. He played in 50 games over the last three years, repping at left tackle, left guard, right guard, and even as an extra tight end in their jumbo packages. The majority of his snaps came at LT, and his most active season was in 2024 when he started nine games for an injured Orlando Brown Jr.
Ford was one of the first lineman off the bench in his three years with the club, and he was trying to keep that role this year. He began the preseason as the backup swing tackle, but took a big step back following his first preseason game two weeks ago. He was moved to second-string RG while Jalen Rivers took over as the backup LT.
That was the beginning of the end. Cincinnati gave Ford no new competition for his job this year, and yet he still lost it.
Cincinnati still has to figure out its swing tackle situation
The biggest hole on the Bengals roster right now is behind both Brown and Amarius Mims. Should one of them go down with injury, there is no one they should have confidence in to take over.
Rivers will still be in the mix this week and will likely play the majority of Friday night’s preseason finale against the Philadelphia Eagles at LT. Javon Foster, who played 13 snaps at the position, maybe his biggest competition on the team right now. Andrew Coker is also still in the mix.
Foster was a fourth-round pick from the 2024 NFL Draft. Rivers himself was picked a round later a year later. If either of the two play particularly well in Philly, the swing tackle job will be theirs.
If not, then expect Cincinnati to scour the waiver wire and potential trade options to find a solution.
Ford has held down the job for the last three years. It will now officially belong to someone else this season.
