Shoutout Dalton Risner.

Came in off the bench and only allowed 1 QB hurry on 23 pass reps.

Hated to see him come in the game via an injury, but that’s exactly why you invest in depth.

— Andrew Russell (@Andrew_Russell7) September 7, 2025

The Cincinnati Bengals stole one from the Cleveland Browns on Sunday (just ask Joe Burrow) and stole one from the rest of the NFL in free agency with Dalton Risner. 

So it seems, anyway, after Risner entered the lineup for the Bengals on Sunday on short notice after Lucas Patrick suffered a calf injury. 

While Patrick was quickly being ruled doubtful to return, Risner was being thrown to the proverbial wolves in an AFC North battle on September 7…after Riser signed with the Bengals on August 27.

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Risner, by all accounts, was very solid given the circumstances. So much so, one has to wonder why he hadn’t landed with another team in free agency. 

Burrow had this to say after the game:

“Dalton did great. He got here in the middle of last week. The operation was clean. We have a lot of different silent cadences, and I thought he handled it well. That right guard spot has to be a smart player, especially on the road to handle all of those cadences and turn his head around and get a quick snapshot of the defense and know what to do quicker than anybody else because he’s not looking at the defense so. Credit to him for being ready. He’s a veteran player. He knows what it takes, so I’m excited to keep playing with him.”

General data says so, too: 

While we wait on Patrick’s official injury outlook, it sure seems like Risner has slotted in and taken over a job the Bengals probably wished they’d offered him roughly a month ago. 

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