Over the past several seasons, the Cincinnati Bengals have put in substantial effort on the offensive line as the face of their franchise Joe Burrow has suffered two season-ending injuries in his first four seasons. They have shelled out serious money to fix the tackle position specifically after bringing in right tackle La’el Collins in 2022 and then left tackle Orlando Brown Jr. in 2023. In 2022, they also brought in center Ted Karras and right guard Alex Cappa in an attempt to stabilize the centerof the line. Unfortunately, they haven’t been able to crack the recipe as Burrow once again went down with a season ending injury.
Left Guard has Been a Consistent Problem for the Bengals
In 2022, Cincinnati essentially held tryouts and ending up giving the starting left guard position to rookie Cordell Volson after he outplayed previous second round pick Jackson Carman in training camp. Just for background, Volson was that years fourth round pick by Cincinnati out of North Dakota State but he performed adequately aside Karras and then left tackle Jonah Williams.
While he played well enough in 2022 to make the team believe that he would develop into a solid offensive lineman, he has failed to develop in a fairly substantial sophomore season in 2023. Just for a reference, Volson was graded at a 51.3 via Pro Football Focus (PFF) in 2022 which isn’t great but for a rookie, that is an acceptable number for someone you believe will improve. Unfortunately for Cincinnati, that just wasn’t the case this season.
In 2023, Volson’s PFF overall score grew slightly to 58.3 as he ranked 44th among offensive guards. Although his score may not have been great, the most substantial scoring for Volson is that his pass blocking score dropped from a 52.9 in 2022 to an abysmal 46.7 in 2023 as Volson gave up five sacks, six hits and 38 pressures on 730 passing plays. Quite simply, Volson isn’t going to be an effective option as a pass protector if Cincinnati plans on protecting Burrow for a long career.
Potential Guard Replacement in the Free Agency
Offensive line is always a difficult position to fill in free agency because teams typically value protection for their quarterback and rarely let talented lineman hit free agency. Therefore, the list of available offensive guards in 2024 is fairly slim without any talented young guards available. The best option then is to fill in with a veteran for a year or two and either allow Volson to develop more or draft a replacement down the line.
Ironically, the best option for Cincinnati is a familiar face. The best option to bring back as the starting left guard would be current Ravens starting guard Kevin Zeitler. Zeitler played for Cincinnati from when he was drafted in the first round in 2012 all the way up through 2017 when Cincinnati inexcusably dismantled their elite offensive line.
Zeitler has been an elite guard for his entire career and has a PFF score of 69.3 with the Baltimore Ravens. More importantly though, Zeitler has the second best pass block score in the NFL with a rating of 82.5. While he may not last long in Cincinnati as he would enter at the ripe age of 33, he would certainly be a stabilizing force in the center of the offensive line. Due to his age, Cincinnati would also be getting an elite offensive guard for an estimated salary of approximately $7 million per year which would be excellent for a team now desperate to pinch pennies.
Zeitler may not be the long-term option but would be an enormous commitment to protecting Burrow and finally perfecting this elite offense.
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