The Cincinnati Bengals are finally adding a guard in free agency.
Sources tell A to Z Sports that Cincinnati is signing Lucas Patrick to a one-year, $2.1 million deal.
The Bengals brought in Patrick for a visit after he flew into town Thursday night and both sides agreed to terms on Friday. Patrick had other offers from the New Orleans Saints and Seattle Seahawks. He played for Saints last year and lives in the Portland area during the offseason, which made Seattle an attractive option as well.
Patrick, originally a college free agent signing of the Green Bay Packers in 2016, is set to make Cincinnati his fourth NFL club in his ongoing 10-year career. He spent the first five years of his career in Green Bay where he started for two years after spending the first three as a reserve. He started at right guard in 2020 and manned the center spot in 2021.
Since his Packer days, Patrick started 20 games for the Chicago Bears from 2022-23 and 10 games for the Saints in 2024. He's racked up 64 career starts in total, with 58 of them since 2020.
How Lucas Patrick fits with the Bengals
Patrick gives the Bengals another interior lineman with starting experience. Cody Ford and Cordell Volson have ample experience within the Bengals' offense and would've each had to start if the team had a game tomorrow. Patrick adds another option into the mix.
It helps that Patrick is well-versed at all three interior positions. He's repped 2,009 snaps at center, 1,372 snaps at right guard, and 1,087 snaps at left guard. He's immediately the most versatile interior o-lineman the Bengals have, which will make him valuable on game days if injuries occur.
Patrick joining the mix also puts a guy like Volson on the hot seat. If a three-way battle were to ensue and Volson does not emerge as the starter, his $3.8 million cap hit would be an expensive amount to stash on the bench. Patrick may just replace Volson on the roster when it's all said and done.
Are the Bengals done at guard in free agency?
The Bengals still have more salary cap space to spend before they reach their typical offseason limit. Tee Higgins' new contract gave them around $6 million in added cap space, and before Ja'Marr Chase's cap hit becomes public knowledge, the Bengals have approximately $30 million in offseason space. With Patrick, that number drops about $1 million due to the top-51 offsetting rule.
In short, there's still room for the Bengals to make another move here without going up against their standard ceiling, which is just below $20 million in space. The question will be whether or not Patrick is in line to start out of the gate. His contract does not scream "guaranteed starter" by any means as he'll be earning a smaller salary than Ford, who has to win a starting job this offseason. What the Bengals do from here will help us fill in the remaining blanks.
For now, Patrick becomes the 70th member of the Bengals' offseason roster and joins an offensive line with plenty to prove.
