Bengals News (12/28): Hakeem Adeniji could fit perfectly at right tackle

Burrow Named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for Week 16
Burrow completed 40 of 52 passes (76.9 percent) for 375 yards and three TDs for a passer rating of 99.4. His completions and passing yardage led all NFL players in Week 16, while his three passing scores were the most by an AFC quarterback. He completed at least two passes to eight different receivers during the game. Burrow's 40 completions marked a career high and tied Ken Anderson's single-game team record set on Dec. 20, 1982.

Bengals Quick Hits: Bengals O-Line Facing Season's First Change; Battle of Wyoming On The Ohio
Adeniji, as he has all season as the swing tackle, filled in capably for Collins in the final 64 plays of Saturday's win in New England. Taylor said, "We haven't made any determinations about any of the roles that anyone is going to play for us this game," but Adeniji is certainly used to fireworks. He started the last 13 games of last season at right guard. Four of those games were in the playoffs. The last one was in Super Bowl LVI, where he and his line had a very public bruising battle with a Hall of Fame exhibit named Aaron Donald in the Rams' last-minute win.

Would Andrew Whitworth consider unretiring to join Bengals? 'I'll never say never'
"I love adventures," Whitworth told Schrager, who first brought up this hypothetical this week on Good Morning Football. "I love taking on chances. So, to me there's always one. Obviously, there's a lot of things that would go into it. I mean, I'm technically under contract still with the Rams, and I'd have to, I'd have to kick off the old, uh, dust a little bit and see if I could see if these tires could still move a little bit. But you know what, I'd, I'd never say no to the option, but, you know, I don't know. It'd have to be a sit-down convo with, with [my wife] Melissa and the kids and say, 'Hey, can we do this again or not?'"

Bengals: Overlooked factor helps Hakeem Adeniji replace La’el Collins
That might not inspire fans to confidence, to the point they’re wondering if Andrew Whitworth might come out of retirement. Adeniji, after all, had plenty of reps last year and posted mostly miserable numbers and was outright benched at least once.

Cincinnati Bengals Film Breakdown: Will Hakeem Adeniji Solidify Right Tackle Spot With La'el Collins Out?
Adeniji is an athletic tackle that can fire out of his stance. He moves well for his size and should be able to set out to wide rushers. He should be able to meet any speed rusher along their path and create an obstacle for them. It’s also nice to be able to rely on athleticism when other issues have caused an imperfect pass set.

Bengals slight underdogs on MNF vs. Bills in Week 17
This time it’s a line that keeps moving and doesn’t figure to stop ahead of the Bengals hosting the Buffalo Bills on “Monday Night Football” in Week 17.

Around the league

Bengals QB Joe Burrow, Panthers RB D'Onta Foreman lead Players of the Week
Burrow was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week for the third time this season after he keyed Cincinnati's 22-18 victory over New England, which put the Bengals in position to clinch a division title this week. The Cincy QB threw for a season-high 375 yards against the Pats, completing 40 of 52 passes for three touchdowns and a 99.4 passer rating.

Top 11 active locks in the NFL for Pro Football Hall of Fame: Where does J.J. Watt rank?
So it's hard to get to Canton, and some exceptional players are still rightfully waiting to hear their name called. But there are also the obvious cases -- the no-brainer, no-questions-asked players whose HOF qualifications are clear even while they're still playing. And there are quite a few active players who fit into that category.

NFL Power Rankings, Week 17: San Francisco 49ers claim No. 1 spot for first time in 2022 season
The 49ers are a fully-formed death machine destroying everything in their way. The defense is led by Nick Bosa, who likely clinched NFL Defensive Player of the Year honors with a dominant performance in Saturday's 37-20 win over the Commanders. Bosa finished with two sacks and a forced fumble and now has a career-high 17.5 sacks with two games to play. Brock Purdy, meanwhile, is 3-0 as starter after another productive game that featured two long TD passes to George Kittle. "He's just getting the ball to us," Kittle said. "He's great with the football. He puts it on target. He allows guys to run with it." This is exactly what Kyle Shanahan asks from his QB in this offense.

Commanders to start QB Carson Wentz vs. Browns in Week 17
"I just want to make sure I'm able to speak to everybody before I make a decision," Rivera said Tuesday. "I want to make sure I have all the thoughts and ideas and concepts. Again, at the end of the day, the decision is going to be made based on what I believe is best for us going forward and I think gives us the best opportunity right now."