CINCINNATI — Dalton Risner will remain a Bengal next season.
Cincinnati announced Monday it is re-signing Risner, considered one of the team's best offensive linemen, to a one-year contract for the 2026 season.
Risner joined the Bengals late last offseason after head coach Zac Taylor announced in August that guard Cordell Volson would be out for the year with a shoulder injury.
The 30-year-old immediately jumped into action, playing in 14 games, 11 of which he started.
"Dalton is a critical part of our team, critical part of our offensive line," Taylor said in announcing Risner's re-signing. "A guy that showed up a week before the season started, played over half of that game and continued to play at a high level all season for us."
This will be Risner's eighth NFL season. A second-round pick for the Broncos in 2019, he spent four seasons as a starter in Denver before going to Minnesota, where he started in 19 games over the course of two years.
"I just feel like I'm full of gratitude ... just so many people — including the fanbase, (the media), the city, the restaurant Jeff Ruby's. I could go on and on about every reason why I wanted to come back and about how you guys have welcomed me with open arms."
Risner said despite the difficulty of last season, he was always clear about wanting to be a Bengal next season.
"This process was just so much different, because I've never felt this way about an organization," Risner said. "I've never truly just wanted to be back and not even test my market. I'm at the point of my career where this is where I'm going to be my best — with (offensive line coach) Scott Peters and Joe Burrow and Ted Karras and Amarius Mims."
