The Cincinnati Bengals get offensive lineman Alex Redmond back after his four-game suspension this week.
Redmond figures to go right back into the lineup, likely at left guard.
But he’s a Band-Aid without much sticking power.
The Bengals need all the help they can get, of course. The line just had one of the worst performances in Pro Football Focus history. Zac Taylor called them out after the game as whiffing on individual matchups on seven of the eight sacks.
At left guard, rookie Michael Jordan was especially bad, checking in with a pass-blocking grade of 15.1. First-round product Billy Price entered the game and allowed a sack on one of four pass-blocking snaps.
But Redmond can’t save this line. He played 15 games a year ago, grading at a 56.4 at PFF, accounting for 10 flags and three sacks. At PFR, he played 928 snaps, getting flagged 11 times.
Keep in mind Redmond has been away from football for a while now, so there’s bound to be some rust there, too. If he’s active and thrown into the lineup, it’s an indictment on the overall state of things under line coach Jim Turner based on his play a season ago.
The optimist might hope Redmond turns it around under a new line coach, yet that simply hasn’t been the case for guys like Bobby Hart.
Up next for the line is a date with the winless Cardinals and old friend Terrell Suggs.
