Bengals move on from Buckeye draft picks Price, Jordan
When the Cincinnati Bengals drafted center Billy Price with their first-round pick in the 2018 NFL draft, offensive line coach Frank Pollack said he saw similarities between Price and five-time Pro Bowl center Travis Frederick.
At the time, Pollack viewed both players as strong and fundamentally sound linemen who had the potential to “anchor an offensive line.”
It was a similar set of circumstances with offensive guard Michael Jordan, whom the Bengals took in the fourth round of the 2019 NFL draft.
At the time, Price and Jordan looked like potential building blocks. But the Bengals traded Price to the New York Giants for reserve defensive tackle B.J. Hill, and Cincinnati cut Jordan this week to narrow the roster down to 53 players.
“Every year, you've got to make new decisions and bring new guys into the fold and see what works best for the group,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said. “Billy has done some great things for us. Mike has played good football for us, winning football, as well. Those weren't easy decisions to make.”
Since 2000, just 11 centers have been drafted in the first round of the NFL draft, including Price. Price is the only one of those 11 who hasn't been a starting center for at least two full seasons. The other 10 started an average of 87 games with the team that drafted them. Price started 19 games with the Bengals, playing both center and guard.
Jordan was the 10th guard off the board in the 2019 NFL draft. As one of the team's highest picks at the position in 20 years, Jordan immediately had the opportunity to become a starter.
Even though Price and Jordan stayed healthy, they combined to start just 38 total games over five combined seasons for a Bengals team that was always looking for offensive line help.
Without Price and Jordan this season, the Bengals will rely on two rookie guards and a rookie center as their backup interior offensive linemen.
"Those guys have to grow up fast, and they have,” Taylor said.