Eric Winston took to Twitter to announce that he’s headed back to the Bengals. Winston, 31, missed the bulk of the 2014 season and joined Cincy in December of last year.
Winston, 31, has been one of the league’s most durable linemen over the last few years, starting all 16 of his teams’ games in Houston, Kansas City, and – most recently – Arizona in each of the last seven seasons, prior to 2014. According to Pro Football Focus’ advanced metrics (subscription required), the former third-round pick ranked as just the 69th-best tackle out of 76 qualified players in 2013. However, that may have been an aberration, considering Winston recorded consistently positive grades in every year prior to that.
Winston was cut by the Seahawks at the end of the ’14 preseason and was out of work until the Bengals scooped him up on December 2nd, despite tryouts with the Vikings, Falcons, and Eagles. The NFLPA president helped to add some depth to Cincinnati’s offensive line late in the season and he’ll likely be back in a similar role in 2015.