The Cincinnati Bengals have elected to decline offensive tackle Cedric Ogbuehi’s fifth-year option on Wednesday. The news comes as no surprise as Ogbuehi has struggled in Cincinnati since being drafted at 21 in the 2015 NFL Draft. Ogbuehi was a player the Bengals wanted to develop over the course of a season or two to replace Andrew Whitworth and Kevin Zeitler.
Unfortunately, Whitworth and Zeitler left for free agency last offseason, and Cincinnati had no answer for replacement. Ogbuehi and 2015 second-round pick Jake Fisher struggled in 2017. With attempts at trying Ogbuehi on both sides of the line, he has also been benched for poor play on both sides.