The Cincinnati Bengals added another offensive lineman Friday by claiming Isaiah Prince on waivers, which seems to create more questions than answers.
One of those big questions for the unit continues to be Billy Price, the 2018 first-round pick who will again sit out this weekend in favor of rookie Michael Jordan at left guard.
But head coach Zac Taylor says the Bengals aren’t giving up on Price but also again stressed draft positioning doesn’t mean anything.
“None of that stuff plays into anything,” Taylor said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “We’re looking to play the guys that give us the best chance and certainly we have a lot of confidence in Billy.”
While true Price has been dealing with a nagging back issue that he gritted through a few weeks back when Alex Redmond got hurt during warmups, it’s hard not to get a sense the first-round product isn’t in a good spot.
After failing to win the starting job at center Price also lost the gig at left guard to Jordan back when the season started. He had a different nagging issue then too. When he’s presumably been healthy this year, he hasn’t had a notable impact.
An ironman of a draft prospect with a limited ceiling, the Bengals were going for a sure thing when they drafted Price. With all this continued talk about draft slotting not factoring into playing time decisions (which is a refreshing change for the team), it’s easy to envision the Bengals seeking out more consistent options this offseason
Price might factor into the long-term plans still, but his developmental track is spotty at best after ducking in and out of the lineup so many times.
