Bengals sign rookie OT Gunnar Vogel

The Cincinnati Bengals today signed free agent offensive tackle Gunnar Vogel.

Vogel, a rookie out of Northwestern University, was signed as a college free agent by the Chicago Bears on May 13th. The Bears subsequently waived him on June 18th.

Before entering the NFL, Vogel was a three-star recruit out of Columbus’ Westerville South High School. He committed to Northwestern and spent five seasons (2016-20) with the Wildcats. He appeared in 25 total games and made 18 starts, all at the right tackle position. It wasn’t until the shortened 2020 season that he became a full-time starter at the position.

With Hakeem Adeniji on the mend with a torn pec, the Bengals are in need of offensive tackle depth. They have limited experience behind starters Jonah Williams and Riley Reiff. Fred Johnson and fourth-round pick D’Ante Smith figure to make the Week 1 roster, but Vogel could compete for a potential practice squad spot with Isaiah Prince.

The addition of Vogel brings the Bengals’ roster to 88 players.