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...
Houstons Biggest NIL Bets Are Suddenly Under Serious Fall Camp Pressure
Houston has spent the offseason trying to stretch a smaller NIL budget into real roster help, and the Cougars did it by leaning hard on the transfer portal and high school recruiting. The additions were meant to raise the floor quickly, with Oregon transfer Porter, Miami (OH) offensive lineman Terrill and Oregon State receiver Trent Walker all arriving as players expected to matter right away for a team trying to climb in the Big 12.
Terrill came in as the most expensive of the bunch, while Walker brings a track record that suggests he can be more than just a depth piece after a productive season at Oregon State. Porter adds another layer to the mix, giving Houston a portal haul that looks ambitious on paper even if the real test is still ahead in fall camp, where the Cougars will find out whether those investments are ready to pay off when the pads come on. [Read more 🡒]
Houstons 2026 Big 12 Path Looks Brutal For One Major Reason
Houstons path through the Big 12 in 2026 is already looking tougher than most schedules, and the reason starts under center. The league is set to put a deep crop of quarterbacks in Houstons way, with names like Julian Lewis, Alonza Barnett III, Avery Johnson, Drew Mestemaker and Devon Dampier all looming as problems in different ways. For a team trying to climb in the conference, that kind of weekly quarterback talent can turn a good defensive plan into a survival test.
Dampier stands out as the headliner on that list, but he is hardly the only one who can force Houston to spend the week game-planning around one player. Johnson brings a dangerous dual-threat element, Mestemaker arrives with momentum after his North Texas run and move to Oklahoma State, and Lewis and Barnett add more high-end upside to a slate that does not offer much relief. The Cougars may get the usual share of breaks and bounces over a season, but the quarterback draw in 2026 suggests they will need to earn nearly every one of them. [Read more 🡒]
Houston May Finally Have The Veteran Pass Rusher It Needed
Houstons defense enters 2026 with some familiar faces back in the fold, and Brandon Mack II is one of the most important. The senior linebacker, who arrived from Ole Miss and was reclassified as a junior in 2025, has steadily carved out a bigger role and now looks positioned to be a central piece for a unit that also brings back quarterback Connor Weigman and wide receiver Amare Thomas on the other side of the ball.
Macks value goes beyond just experience. Houston has reason to believe he can help change the tone up front, where a veteran edge presence can matter as much against the run as it does in obvious passing situations. After showing clear year-to-year progress, he enters this season as one of the players most likely to shape how disruptive the Cougars can be, even if the full extent of that impact is still to be determined. [Read more 🡒]