Bengals just accomplished their biggest goal before free agency and make Joe Burrow’s life easier for next season
Dalton Risner has agreed to a contract extension with the Bengals.
The Cincinnati Bengals have agreed on a contract extension with guard Dalton Risner.
Risner’s wife, Whitney Risner, broke the news of the agreement Monday morning.
Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Risner’s extension runs through the 2026 season and is worth up to $5 million.
Risner, who turns 31 in July, started 11 games for Cincinnati last season after signing with the club within two weeks of the season-opener. He started the final seven games of the year at right guard after rookie Jalen Rivers suffered an ankle injury in Week 11. He allowed just nine pressures despite pass-blocking for 297 snaps during those final seven weeks as the Bengals’ offensive line thrived as a whole, ranking second in Pro Football Focus’ Pass Blocking Efficiency score.
Extending Risner was one of the easiest decisions Cincinnati was faced with this offseason. The former second-round pick was an ideal fit to round out the best o-line quarterback Joe Burrow has ever had when he came back from turf toe surgery, and Risner himself made it clear he wanted to be in the Queen City.
“I would personally like to not hit free agency,” Risner said in January. “I’ve said that I don’t want to get to that mess of getting other teams involved. I’d love to just let it be a thing between me and the Bengals. I hope they call me later today. Hope they call me tomorrow.
“This is where I want to be.”
Risner, his teammates, coaches, and the front office all got what they wanted a week before the tampering window of free agency opens. The timing of it all makes the move even more of a positive.
Bengals free agency can officially be all about the defense
The Bengals have made it clear what they want to accomplish in free agency. Attacking the defense with additions to all three levels, starting with the defensive line, has become the expectation. Cincinnati is at its best when it can focus on one task at a time, and monitoring the guard market on top of all the work the other side of the ball needs could’ve been an unproductive scenario.
Extending Risner before the start of free agency officially clears Cincinnati to focus all of its attention on the defensive side of the ball when free agent tampering (legally) begins on Mar. 9 at 12:00 p.m. ET. Risner was the only offensive starter from the end of last season set to become a free agent next week. Now, all 11 starters are locked in with ample time to spare.
With Trey Hendrickson on the way out, no other impending free agent was more important to retain than Risner. He was arguably the Bengals’ best veteran addition last offseason despite not becoming an established starter until after the midseason point, and his return now establishes unprecedented continuity in this era of Bengals football.
The entire starting offensive line is now back in the fold
Altering to the o-line has become a yearly tradition in Cincinnati, and it’s typically entailed wide-scale rebuilds of the unit.
That was not necessary this offseason. Left tackle Orlando Brown Jr., left guard Dylan Fairchild, center Ted Karras, and right tackle Amarius Mims were all Week 1 starters and Fairchild’s two missed games from the middle of the season was the only time any of them missed time. They all finished the 2025 season on a high note with Risner at RG, and all of them were already under contract for 2026.
The only thing to do was extend Risner to run it back and keep the momentum from the final seven weeks rolling. Mission accomplished.
Risner’s one-year deal means three of the five starters are entering contract years in 2026, with Brown (turning 30 in May) and Karras (turning 33 later this month) each set to play on expiring deals. If that’s the only problem ahead of the Bengals’ offensive line, they are in a much better spot than they’ve ever been in Burrow’s career.
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