Cincinnati Bengals Player Preview: Marshall Newhouse

Marshall Newhouse

Position: Offensive Lineman

Height: 6-4

Weight: 328

Age: 25

College: Texas Christian

Hometown: Dallas, TX

Experience: 5

The Cincinnati Bengals signed Marshall Newhouse to boost their offensive line depth. Though he's played most of his career at offensive tackle, the Bengals expect him to play guard as well.

An unrestricted free agent who played 47 games with 31 starts for Green Bay over the last four seasons, Newhouse (6-4, 319; Texas Christian) is a fifth-year NFL player for 2014. He saw action in 14 games with two starts for Green Bay last season. From 2011-12, he played in every game, with 29 starts.

The Packers won the NFC North Division title in each of the last three years, and Newhouse played in all four Green Bay postseason games, with two starts.

"Marshall has played a lot of football for Green Bay; he'll be a quality addition to our line," said Paul Alexander, Bengals assistant head coach/offensive line coach. "He's played left tackle and right tackle and has experience in big games."

Newhouse was Andy Dalton's left tackle for Dalton's first three seasons (2007-09) at Texas Christian. The team went to a bowl game in each of those seasons, and in 2009, when Newhouse was a senior and Dalton a junior, the Horned Frogs posted TCU's first undefeated regular season in 71 years.

However, Newhouse has had his fair share of struggles. He had a ranking near the bottom of 2014 free agent offensive tackles by Pro Football Focus. His -9.7 rating brings doubt he'll ever be anything more than a backup in Cincinnati.

But we cannot forget Paul Alexander has routinely taken young guys like Newhouse (25 years old) and developed them into quality starters. Last year, Mike Pollak was signed after an up-and-down career, only to become a quality starter in 2013.

During OTAs, Newhouse was used at both tackle and guard. He'll be an interesting player to watch during the preseason.