Dalton Risner and his wife, Whitney, shared devastating news on Friday: they lost their baby boy at 16 weeks into the pregnancy.
The announcement came only four weeks after Whitney had posted the couple’s happier news, writing, “Baby Risner, we can’t wait to meet you this year!” In her emotional Instagram message, she said the loss has left their family in deep grief and thanked people for the support they’ve shown.
“I wish I was writing any other post than this right now,” Whitney wrote. “I never imagined our journey to starting a family would begin like this.”
She described the pain in stark terms, saying the experience has changed her in ways she never expected. “This loss has introduced me to a depth of pain and heartbreak that I never knew existed,” she wrote. “It feels like I’ve lost so much… our precious baby boy, pieces of myself, and the future I had planned out for the past 4 months.”
Whitney also spoke about leaning on her faith through the heartbreak. “I don’t know exactly what the future holds, and that uncertainty is incredibly hard. But even in the midst of heartbreak and grief, I know God is still good,” she wrote.
She also made clear how much Dalton has meant to her through the ordeal. “More than ever, I’ve realized how important it is who you marry and choose to walk through life with,” she said. “I truly can’t imagine getting through this without my rock and best friend, @dalton_risner66.”
Whitney, a former college basketball player who founded the jewelry company WAAWEES and has more than one million TikTok followers, said this was the couple’s “second loss in just a couple of months.”
She closed by thanking friends, family, and supporters for their prayers and kindness, while also reaching out to others who have gone through the same kind of pain. “If you’re walking this same painful road, I want you to know that you are not alone,” she wrote.
Risner joined the Bengals in 2025 after stints with the Denver Broncos and the Minnesota Vikings. A second-round draft pick in 2019, he has started 93 regular season and postseason games.
In Other News...
BYUs In-State Recruiting Surge Feels Bigger Than A Hot Streak
BYUs latest in-state recruiting run has started to look less like a brief spike and more like a real shift in how the program is landing talent. The Cougars have stacked up commitments from several of Utahs better prospects, a sign that the staff is not only holding its own against the schools it has long battled for local players, but also winning some of those fights outright. With the Big 12 platform and NIL resources giving BYU a stronger pitch than it used to have, the program is showing it can stay in the mix for the kind of recruits that once might have felt out of reach.
What makes the surge more interesting is where the help is coming from. BYU has been adding pieces on both lines, the kind of foundation players that tend to matter most when a class is judged years later instead of on signing day. The trend also fits a broader recruiting climate in which early commitments are becoming more common, as high school players try to secure spots before the portal tightens the market even further. For BYU, the bigger question now is whether this is simply a hot stretch or the start of a new baseline. [Read more 🡒]
BYU May Finally Have The Defensive Line Answer Fans Needed
BYUs defensive line will get its first real look of fall practice in early August, and one of the more important names to watch is Justin Kirkland. The redshirt senior tackle arrived from Oklahoma State with a reputation for helping stabilize the middle, and he is expected to be a significant piece as the Cougars try to build more size and resistance up front for the 2026 season.
Kirklands presence matters most because of what it can do for Keanu Tanuvasa, who has been carrying a heavy load at the point of attack. If Kirkland can settle into the interior the way BYU hopes, it would give the Cougars a much-needed answer in the middle of the defense and take some pressure off a unit that has been searching for more dependable line play. [Read more 🡒]
Former BYU Star Still Waiting As Training Camp Opens
Training camps are opening with two familiar names still on the market, and for BYU fans, Bobby Wagner and Kyle Van Noy remain reminders of just how far a Cougar linebacker can climb. Both are Super Bowl winners, both are former Utah college stars, and both are now free agents after finishing last season with the Washington Commanders and Baltimore Ravens, respectively.
Wagner, 36, has been linked as a possible fit for the Dallas Cowboys or Jacksonville Jaguars, while Van Noy, 35, is drawing interest from teams such as the San Francisco 49ers and Minnesota Vikings. The longer this stretches into camp, the more it becomes a waiting game for two veterans who still have enough name value and production to matter, even if the right landing spot has yet to come into focus. [Read more 🡒]