Dalton Risner remains a free agent with a week until the 2025 NFL Draft. As far as where he wants to play next, he has a few teams on his mind. The Cincinnati Bengals are one of those teams.
While talking on a TikTok live Wednesday evening, Risner shouted out the Bengals as a team he could sign with.
"I'm not on a team right now," Risner said in response to a question. "I will be on a team. . .soon, I could imagine. What do you guys think? You guys think it's the Minnesota Vikings? Do you guys think it's back to Denver? Do you guys think it's the Cincinnati Bengals? I don't know."
Risner mentioned he's in talks with "multiple teams," but didn't clarify which teams in particular. The former second-round pick from the 2019 draft started his career with the Denver Broncos before playing the last two years in Minnesota. Cincinnati was the only club he said by name that he hasn't previously played for.
TikTok is where Risner made news two weeks ago while responding to a video The Wrightway Sports Network's Malik Wright posted. The video explained why the Bengals needed to sign Risner in free agency. Risner responded in agreement, commenting he "would LOVE to be a Bengal."
Wright posted on X/Twitter Wednesday evening that he reached out to Risner and clarified the Bengals have not reached out to him, but that he's hoping they do.
It appears Risner is keeping the Bengals as an option, but there isn't mutual interest as of this moment. The draft is an important point in the offseason timeline as Cincinnati will be looking to add a starting guard with one of its first draft picks. In the scenario in which the team misses out on its preferred targets, Risner could come into play as a veteran option to be added after the draft concludes.
That's likely when Risner will make a decision. He will want to see which teams have openings for starting gigs, and it sounds like he's keeping the Bengals in the front of his mind.
