CINCINNATI -- The Bengals have re-signed tackle Eric Winston, the team announced Wednesday. Winston replaces right tackle Jake Fisher, who was placed on the non-football illness list and is out for the rest of the season.
Winston, who turns 34 on Nov. 17, is the current NFL Players Association president and has been with four teams since he was taken by the Texans in the third round of the 2006 draft. This is his second stint with the Bengals.
He tweeted Wednesday that he was happy to be back.
Happy to be back in Cincy! #WhoDey
— Eric Winston (@ericwinston) November 8, 2017
Winston was mostly a backup in his three seasons with the Bengals, although he rotated snaps with Cedric Ogbuehi last season. Winston was re-signed in the offseason to a one-year deal but was released after training camp.
Winston tried out for the Saints earlier this season but was not signed and has been a free agent for the first half of the season. Winston will likely back up both Ogbuehi at left tackle and Andre Smith at right tackle.
Fisher had to leave Sunday's game against the Jacksonville Jaguars after just 10 snaps and was taken to the hospital. He flew home with the team that night.
Marvin Lewis said Fisher's illness is something that he has been dealing with all season.
"It's something that the doctors are monitoring very closely," Lewis said. "[Sunday] they thought they needed to pull him from the game and run some tests, and took him to the hospital to run tests."
When asked if it was potentially serious, Lewis didn't seem to think so.
"It's not as serious as I would think it is, but yet, it took him out of the game."
Fisher was on the injury report in Week 3 with an undisclosed illness, but played in that week's game. However, Week 3 was the first week Fisher did not take 100 percent of the offensive snaps, as the Bengals began rotating both of their struggling tackles with Smith.
According to the Bengals' website, the team believes Fisher's medical issue can be addressed in the offseason.