When the Cincinnati Bengals recruited offensive tackle Riley Reiff in free agency last March, one of the Bengals coaches told Reiff that “he wasn’t going to let (Reiff) leave town” without signing a contract with the team.
At the start of the offseason, one of the Bengals biggest priorities was to find a starting right tackle. When the best offensive tackles on the market didn’t hit free agency, Reiff was one of two proven starters left on the board.
The Bengals didn’t let Reiff leave town. Cincinnati signed him to a one-year contract, and he has lived up to expectations. But across the offensive line, the Bengals still haven’t built a long-term core of players similar to what the team had during its playoff run in the early 2010s.
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“(The offensive line) is not perfect,” Bengals offensive coordinator Brian Callahan said. “You watch around the league, and you see there's plenty of people, plenty of problems. It's never going to be exactly how you want every single week."
For the Bengals, four spots on the offensive line could be in transition. As the Bengals attempt a run to the playoffs in 2021, the front office has to answer the question of whether the Bengals have the offensive linemen that they want protecting quarterback Joe Burrow long-term.
Here’s what the Bengals most important offensive linemen have to prove before the end of the season.
Left tackle Jonah Williams (under contract through 2022)
Even though Williams, the Bengals 2019 first round pick, is the Bengals best offensive lineman, he’s entering a new stage of his career. He has only played in 19 NFL games, but Williams could be eligible for a contract extension at the end of the season.
According to head coach Zac Taylor, Williams’ combination of power and technique have made Williams a reliable lineman worth building around. In Week 9, Williams played one of his best games of the season and contained Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett.
Left guard Quinton Spain (under contract through 2021)
Spain has been the surprise of the season on the Bengals offensive line. After signing a one-year deal near the league minimum, Spain has been one of the most productive guards in the NFL in pass protection.
Spain’s free agency will be a fascinating case study for a Bengals team that has never paid a free agent offensive guard more than $6 million per season. In the last half of the 2021 season, Spain has a chance to prove he’s the guard the Bengals have been waiting for.
Center Trey Hopkins (under contract through 2022)
The Bengals aren't tied to Hopkins, 29, as their long term center even though his contract extends into 2022. Hopkins made a shockingly quick recovery from an ACL injury, but the center-right guard combination has been the weakness of the Bengals offensive line this year.
Hopkins has been the hardest player to evaluate on the Bengals offensive line: how much will he improve as his knee gets stronger? Hopkins hasn’t been able to hold his ground against defensive tackles in the same way he has in previous seasons. He’s one of the leaders on the offense, but the Bengals need more production from the center position.
Right guard Hakeem Adeniji (under contract through 2023)
Taylor has called the right guard position a “revolving door,” and Adeniji has been the latest player given a chance to start. Even though he only played a few games at guard in college, had never done it in the NFL, and missed the first half of the season with a pectoral injury, the coaching staff gave Adeniji a shot as the starter.
Adeniji’s standout footwork and agility give him a shot to stick at the position.
“I think Hakeem’s a guy we had a lot of high hopes for before the season started,” Callahan said. “We’ll see if he can ascend and get better and see how that shakes out.”
Right tackle Riley Reiff (under contract through 2021)
If the Bengals don’t re-sign Reiff, they’ll be in the same position at right guard entering 2022. Reiff was the best free agent tackle to change teams during the first wave of free agency. If he continues his steady play in the second half of the season, then a 33-year-old Reiff would be as good an option as the Bengals could realistically add for 2022.
Offensive guard Jackson Carman (under contract through 2024)
The coaching staff’s evaluation of Carman has gone back and forth this year. He went from a first team right guard to a third team right guard to a starter and then back to a reserve role. Currently, Carman is the first guard off the bench for the Bengals, and Cincinnati’s 2021 second-round pick is in the middle of a disappointing year.
“By no stretch are we writing Jackson off,” Callahan said. “Sometimes it helps to rotate some and take a step back and refocus and reclaim what the plan is moving forward from them. I like all our young players we have inside.”
Offensive guard/tackle D’Ante Smith (under contract through 2024)
Before he injured his knee in October, Smith was on track to make a start at right guard. He had never played guard before training camp, but Smith was the star of training camp as he consistently won one-on-one matchups against the Bengals interior pass rushers.
Since Smith has been out for nearly the entire season, the Bengals fourth round pick hasn’t had a shot to show if he’s an offensive lineman they can count on as a starter.
Offensive guard/center Trey Hill (under contract through 2024)
The Bengals coaching staff has treated Hill like a long-term backup more than a developmental project this season. The Bengals drafted Hill as a center and moved him to guard in the preseason. Then after they traded Billy Price, Hill became a center again. When the Bengals had three injured offensive guards on IR, Hill moved positions again and made a start at right guard.
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