Nick Easton to visit Bengals, per report

The Cincinnati Bengals appear to have a new target for the offensive line.

Veteran interior lineman Nick Easton is expected to visit Cincinnati, as well as the Houston Texans, on free agent visits this week, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports. Fowler adds that the New Orleans Saints, who cut Easton this offseason to save $5 million in cap space, are still interested in re-signing him.

A seventh-year player in 2021, Easton has spent the last two seasons with the Saints playing both left and right guard. He made nine starts at right guard in 12 games last season while earning a 59.6 Pro Football Focus grade. He’s never hit 60 in his career and typically finished in the 56-59 range, so he’s not exactly a clear-cut upgrade, even for the Bengals.

Easton also played left guard and center during his time with the Minnesota Vikings from 2015-18, so he’s clearly versatile.

One other big issue with Easton is injuries have plagued him throughout his career. He missed the entire 2018 season due to a neck injury. He also ended both the 2016 and 2020 seasons on injured reserve.

Easton looks like an ideal backup given his ability to play all three interior offensive line spots, but expecting him to be anything more might be a stretch for a guy turning 29 in June.