Billy Price is Looking to Prove His Worth in '21: 'It's Time to Walk the Path Now'

Price has made 19 starts in his first three NFL seasons

Author:
All Bengals Staff
Publish date:
Feb 20, 2021 11:12 AM EST

The Bengals enter the offseason with plenty of question marks on the offensive line.

Will they upgrade the right tackle spot? What are they going to do at guard?

Center could also be a need after Trey Hopkins suffered a torn ACL in the Bengals' season finale against Baltimore.

The 28-year-old probably won't be ready for the start of the 2021 season. If he isn't then former first-round pick Billy Price is hoping for one more chance.

The Bengals brought back offensive line coach Frank Pollack in January. He helped draft Price in 2018 and has a good rapport with the former Ohio State star.

Price has only made nine starts over the past two seasons without Pollack on the staff after making 10 starts [with Pollack] as a rookie in 2018.

He's had his fair share of struggles, but he believes reuniting with Pollack and improving his game this offseason could jump start his NFL career.

"I have to do the corresponding work. The foundation may be laid, but it's time to go walk the path now," Price told Dan Hoard on the Bengals Booth Podcast. "It's time to go and do those things and be the consistent piece and that's how you attack this going forward.

"To be the anchor that I was drafted to be and be the person, the consistent piece... It's to show up day one and be who I was that Frank (Pollack) drafted."

Pollack believed in Price when the Bengals took him with the 21st overall pick in 2018.

He had small flashes of improvement in 2020, but didn't get consistent playing time. Price also moved from center to guard and back. He should be able to focus on the center spot with Hopkins recovering from the knee injury.

"I’m excited to work with Billy and excited to work with all the guys," Pollack said last month. "My job is to ring every ounce of talent and ability out of all those guys and Billy is no exception to that. I’m excited to work with him and the rest of the group."

This is Price's last chance to show the Bengals he can be a starting caliber offensive lineman in the NFL. They'll decline his fifth-year option later this offseason, which means 2021 is all about showing Cincinnati and the rest of the NFL that he can be a valuable piece in the trenches.

Listen to Hoard's entire conversation with Price below.

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