Tanner Hudson, who signed to the practice squad in December 2022, proved a viable option after a few elevations for game-day contributions, but the Bengals will be looking at replacing Smith, a free agent. The two starters before Smith, Hayden Hurst (2022) and 2015 draft pick C.J. Uzomah (starter from 2018-2021), earned big contracts elsewhere after a career-best season in Cincinnati. Both Uzomah and Hurst are expected this week to be released by their respective clubs.
Tobin said the Bengals will look at all avenues in filling that spot, through free agency and the draft.
“There has been a revolving door,” Tobin said last week at the NFL Combine. “That’s not what we’re looking for. It’s what’s been presented to us in our estimation as the best way forward. We’ll continue to evaluate that, but we want guys, like every other team wants guys. We want guys that can block. We want guys that can catch. If they can do both, that’s a bonus. ... It’s an important position for us.”
With the Bengals investing in other positions over the past few years, the tight end spot has been an area where they have been able to save some money on cheaper, one-year “prove-it” deals with Hurst and Smith.
Offensive coordinator Dan Pitcher said the organization still values the tight end position enough to go after an elite player, though. The Bengals recognize how much good pass-catching tight ends can help offenses in the NFL.
“It is about fitting the pieces together and there’s only so many targets, right?” Pitcher told media at the Combine last week. “And so when you do have two explosive outside threats, and the (financial) resources that have to go into those guys, that’s where you start to play the game that the Duke always talks about with the pie only being so big. ... I’m certainly not opposed to a talented player at that position. You need somebody to work the middle of the field, whether that’s your slot receiver, whether that’s your tight end, whether that’s Ja’Marr Chase formationing him into the middle of the field, Tee Higgins for that matter. You’ve got to figure out the best way to do that. And as we see across the league, having a dynamic play-making tight end can really change your offense.
“And so that’s not something where it’s like, ‘Oh, we’re not interested in that.’ Now you’ve just got to decide what do you want to forego to acquire that. But we’ll figure out the best way to make it work.”
Bengals coach Zac Taylor said a first-round pick at tight end would be able to catch, run block and pass protect at a high level, and that would be ideal; however, sometimes it takes multiple players with different skill sets to fill the position.
That’s what it looked like last year, especially when it wasn’t going well with Smith. Hudson had to step up into the pass-catcher role, and Sample has always been strong in the run game but took on more of a role in the passing game as well.
“You’re looking for all those traits, and sometimes the guy’s got all three, sometimes the guy’s got two, sometimes you got to piece it together,” Taylor said. “But that’s just tight end rooms in general. And so we’re always looking for the room that can do all those jobs. And it’s our job to cover up tendencies and give guys opportunities and build it from there.”
Pitcher said a talented tight end could allow the Bengals to run more ‘12 personnel’ with two of them on the field at once, but the past few years, they’ve had such a good wide receiver trio, it didn’t make sense to take advantage of that in their scheme.
The Bengals have slot receiver Tyler Boyd heading into free agency, so that could impact plans as well.
“We’re player-centric,” Pitcher said. “We’re going to put our best guys out there. We’re going to see what matchups we can exploit and we’re going to do that on a week-to-week basis. So I like playing 11, I believe in it. I think there’s some value in really majoring in a personnel group, but that doesn’t mean we can’t adjust off of that and modify what we do based on who we have.”
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