The Cincinnati Bengals have now lost another offensive lineman before the start of training camp.
On Monday, guard Clint Boling announced his retirement from the NFL after eight seasons with the Bengals. He was originally selected by Cincinnati in the fourth-round of the 2011 NFL Draft out of Georgia and has since appeared in 114 total games with 112 starts.
“After eight years in the NFL, it is time for me to step away from the game due to medical reasons,” said Boling per a statement. “This is not an easy decision, but it is the right one for me, my wife Kelly and our two young girls. I want to thank the Brown family for giving me the opportunity to play my entire career with the Bengals. I also want to thank my teammates, coaches, fans and everyone who has supported me throughout my career.”
Boling’s sudden retirement right ahead of training camp getting started probably isn’t a huge surprise to those that follow the Bengals closely, however, as he missed the entire offseason practices due to an undisclosed injury. Because of that, a few media members who cover the Bengals speculated that Boling wouldn’t be the Bengals starting left guard this season.
With Boling now retiring, Christian Westerman, who has made two NFL starts in his three seasons with the Bengals, figures to be the Bengals top candidate to be the team’s starting left guard in 2019 with veteran John Jerry, formerly of the New York Giants, potentially serving as his backup.
The Bengals original plan after this year’s draft was to have Cordy Glenn move from left tackle to left guard. However, that plan got scraped several weeks ago after rookie tackle Jonah Williams, the team’s first-round selection this year out of Alabama, suffered a torn labrum in his left shoulder during OTAs that will result in him missing the entire 2019 season. With Williams out for the season, Glenn is expected to once again be the Bengals starting left tackle.
The Bengals 2019 offensive line could perhaps wind up being the worst in the AFC North due to all that has transpired this offseason.
