Report: Bengals land new tight end

Credit: Abbie Parr

Credit: Abbie Parr

The Cincinnati Bengals have their new tight end after Irv Smith Jr. agreed to terms on a one-year deal, according to the NFL Network.

Smith gives the Bengals a potential replacement for Hayden Hurst, who signed a three-year contract with the Carolina Panthers after one season in Cincinnati.

A 2019 second-round draft pick by Minnesota, Smith spent the first four years of his career with the Vikings but missed the entire 2021 season with a torn meniscus. In his return to the field in 2022, he caught 25 passes for 182 yards and two touchdowns but eight games into the season, he landed on injured reserve with an ankle injury. He returned for the regular-season finale against the Bears and caught three passes for 14 yards.

Smith comes from a football family. His father, Irv Smith, enjoyed a seven-year NFL career with the Saints, 49ers and Browns, and his uncle, Ed Smith, was a tight end in the league for three seasons in 1997 and 1998 with the Falcons and with the Lions and Eagles in 1999.

Cincinnati has just one other experienced tight end on the roster after Hurst’s departure, so Smith, a former Alabama standout, comes into a big position of need that also could be addressed in the draft for more depth. Drew Sample and Mitchell Wilcox remain free agents and are not expected to return.

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