Bengals continue tinkering with offensive line and Andre Smith

The Cincinnati Bengals continue to tinker with their offensive line.

Against the Buffalo Bills in Week 5, the Bengals went with Andre Smith at right tackle and Cedric Ogbuehi at left tackle on the opening series. Smith has been rotating in for both Ogbuehi and Fisher in recent weeks, so that could continue in this game.

However, this is the first time Smith has started at right tackle this season. While Ogbuehi gets more of the attention as the all-important left tackle, Fisher has been equally as bad this season. That’s why Smith is taking his spot for the time being.

Fisher was also limited in practice this week with a back injury, though he wasn’t even listed as questionable on the final injury report. Smith starting was likely a combination of Fisher’s injury and his poor play in recent weeks. PFF had him ranked 60th among offensive tackles coming into this game, just behind Ogbuehi at 55th.

One other notable starter was T.J. Johnson, who remained at right guard, despite Trey Hopkins returning from his knee injury and being active in this game. Hopkins is easily the better option at right guard, but perhaps he’s still a little rusty after missing nearly a full month of game action.

It’s also worth noting that, with Hopkins back, Alex Redmond was made inactive. Redmond got some brief playing time at right guard in Week 4, but he didn’t do enough to challenge Johnson for the starting spot.