The Bengals took tackle Cedric Ogbuehi in the first round of the 2015 draft with the knowledge that it would take him some time to get healthy after a torn ACL and their patience didn’t end when he finally got on the field at the end of last season.
Ogbuehi moved into the starting job at right tackle this year and the Bengals know that he’s going to take some lumps as he adjusts to life in the NFL. Ogbuehi took a few of them against the Patriots last Sunday and wound up on the bench in the second half after a holding call helped set the stage for a game-turning safety by Patriots linebacker Dont’a Hightower.
The Bengals went with veteran Eric Winston for the rest of the game, something coach Marvin Lewis said was designed to help Ogbuehi to settle down. He’ll be back in the starting lineup against the Browns this week, though.
“We expect big things from Ced,” Lewis said, via the team’s website. “We’re going to continue to coach him hard to get it done right, all the time. That’s what he’s expected to do.”
Ogbuehi said he needs to get stronger and master his technique so that he doesn’t fall into the bad habits that lead to penalties and other mistakes. The sooner he can do that the better for a 2-4 Bengals team that can’t afford too many more mistakes this season.