Bengals' Dalton Risner Admits Causing Joe Burrow's Injury in 2025

The Cincinnati Bengals' offensive line has been a topic of conversation consistently for the past six years, from Joe Burrow tearing his ACL in his rookie season and having a paper-thin unit in the Super Bowl, ultimately leading to the Bengals' loss to the Los Angeles Rams when Aaron Donald forced an incompletion on fourth down. 

Joe Burrow has dealt with injuries his entire career, and the offensive line’s inability to protect him takes some responsibility for those injuries. The Bengals had to piece together a unit in 2025, with rookie guard Dylan Fairchild and late-camp signing Dalton Risner. 

After piecing the unit together, the Bengals hit their stride at the end of the year, putting up one of the better pressure rates in the NFL last season. Dylan Fairchild settled in around December, according to Orlando Brown Jr. 

Dalton Risner took the blame for the hit that led to Joe Burrow’s injury and told Fox 19’s Jeremy Rauch that he had a dilemma after that hit happened. He could either run from it and avoid the media or own up to it, learn from it, and grow. He chose the latter, and it pushed him to improve in the second half of the season, which helped him earn a one-year contract extension with Cincinnati. 

Risner also told Rauch that he had one of the best training camps of his career in the past month and a half with the Bengals, as Cincinnati continues to carry a ton of momentum into the 2026 season on offense. 

Now, Cincinnati has the entire unit returning in 2026, with Amarius Mims and Ted Karras joining Fairchild, Risner, and Orlando Brown Jr. However, the assumption remains that the Bengals' offensive line will struggle to protect Burrow, despite their progress in 2025 and the continuity heading into the 2026 season. 

Orlando Brown Jr. had a questionable training camp performance, with some practice clips that didn’t show his best work, and he was beaten in Cincinnati’s first preseason game against the Detroit Lions, which led to Joe Burrow being hit. The Bengals' deep defensive line also had its fair share of success against the Bengals' O-line, raising questions about how reliable the front five will be. 

Cincinnati has the necessary ingredients to produce a quality NFL offensive line. Look for this unit to protect Joe Burrow and run effectively with Chase Brown.