The Cincinnati Bengals have caught the injury bug early in the season. Ignoring the obvious big name injury that is Joe Burrow, tight end Noah Fant is sidelined with a concussion along with rookie defensive end Shemar Stewart who is in danger of missing his second straight game with an ankle injury.
Now joining the list is offensive guard Dalton Risner. Risner is one of the biggest parts of a Bengals offensive line that has not performed well to start the season.
He went down with a calf injury during last week’s blowout loss. Filling in for the veteran was rookie guard Jalen Rivers.
Rivers played 23 of the games 56 snaps, posting a PFF grade of 51.6 in his first career game action. His head coach praised the effort in his NFL debut.
Err On The Side Of Caution With Dalton Risner
The team announced today that Risner was a full participant at practice. My concern however is with the type of injury the 30-year-old is dealing with.
Risner’s injury is classified as a calf injury. Sports fans have become all too familiar with calf injuries lately, especially thanks to the NBA playoffs.
We have seen calf injury designations serve as the precursors to much more serious injuries. In the case of Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton, it was playing through a calf injury that landed them on top of a surgeons table.
The team doesn’t take the field until Monday, giving the veteran an extra day to recover, and coach Taylor seems to think he will be good to go against the Denver Broncos.
“We got some options there, and we’ll go through the week and see where we are at,” he said in response to a question about who will start at right guard.

Jalen Rivers Was A Three Year Starter At Miami
There were few offensive line prospects with more experience than Jalen Rivers in last year’s draft class.
The fifth rounder started seven games as a freshman in 2022. He then made the switch to left tackle in 2023 where he started all thirteen games and earned All-ACC honors.
He stayed at tackle his junior year and ended his collegiate career with 31 total starts.
Standing just shy of six-foot-six, his positional versatility and football IQ will make him a mainstay on offensive lines around the league. The Bengals coaching staff is hoping they can develop the 23-year-old will develop into a Dalton Risner type player in his own right.