Andre Smith Archives - Bengals-Talk

Free Agency Update: Bengals Sign Minter, and More

March 19, 2017 Chris Russell Leave a Comment

The Cincinnati Bengals made a big free agency move yesterday with the signing of LB Kevin Minter from Arizona.

Minter signed a 1-year deal worth $4.5 million. His arrival to the Bengals will take some of the sting out of losing Karlos Dansby to the Cardinals on his own 1-year deal and should help upgrade the LB position.

The 26-year-old Minter was taken in the 2nd round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He has played in Arizona for the past four years and started every game over the past two seasons. He played over 93% of the team’s defensive snaps in 2016, so he’s durable. During the past two seasons he has logged 175 tackles and four sacks (a career-high 3.5 last season).

Other Bengal free agency news last week

The Cincinnati Bengals inked offensive tackle Andre Smith to a 1-year contract on Tuesday. Does the name sound familiar? It should. Smith was drafted by the Bengals out of Alabama in the first round in 2009 and will be heading into his 9th season. He spent last year with the Minnesota Vikings but only started four games before injuring a tricep. Soon after that, he was placed on injured reserve and didn’t play for the rest of the season.
Guard/center TJ Johnson agreed to a 2-year deal on Friday. Johnson is a third-year man out of South Carolina and was chosen in the 7th round of the 2015 draft.
Finally, two players who are no longer on the Bengals’ roster include wide receiver James Wright (released) and running back Rex Burkhead (signed with the New England Patriots). Since losing Burkhead leaves the team thin at that position look for them to take advantage of a talent-rich draft that includes names like Florida State’s Dalvin Cook, LSU’s Leonard Fournette, Stanford’s Christian McCaffrey, and Tennessee’s Alvin Kamara.

Bengals Free Agency News – Dre In, Whit and Zeit Out

March 10, 2017 Chris Russell 1 Comment

Well – good news and bad news in free agency so far.

Bad news first – the Cincinnati Bengals lost their two best offensive lineman to other teams on Thursday. Andrew Whitworth inked a 3-year, $36 million deal with the LA Rams.

Kevin Zeitler went even bigger (with a smaller team). KZ will spend the next 5 years with the Cleveland Browns, and get 60 million bucks for it. It’s kinda sad that the Bengals didn’t even make an offer for him. But it’s also not surprising – the Cincy brass traditionally doesn’t place a lot of value on offensive guards.

Given this departure of talent, it’s a good thing that quarterback Andy Dalton is under contract. Otherwise, he might blow town now that the two best players are gone from a line that allowed 41 sacks last season.

So, will the Bengals try to snag some bodies from the free agency field to replace the Whitworth-Zeitler protection agency? Or will they look to the draft to get some big uglies? Some names to remember include Minnesota Vikings (and former Bengal) OT Andre Smith, LSU C/G Ethan Pocic, and Western Kentucky’s OT/G Forrest Lamp. Keep an eye out for them.

Now, The Good News

Dre Kirkpatrick signed a 5-year, $52.5 million contract Thursday. His presence is almost as big a gain to the secondary as Zeitler and Whitworth are a loss to the O-line. He provides stability to the defensive backfield and was a big reason why the Cincinnati Bengals tied for fourth in the NFL last year with 17 interceptions. Many wonder how or if this move will impact the future of CB Adam Jones, who has had off-the-field trouble.

Overall, this didn’t feel like a good day for Cincinnati. Losing Whitworth and Zeitel hurts no matter who the team signs to replace them. Getting Kirkpatrick is good and there are still plenty of quality players out there to be signed or drafted. But it still feels like a step back. And for a team that entered 2016 with playoff expectations and finished 6-9-1, any step back can be bad. Real bad.

Will the Bengals have back-to-back losing seasons for the first time since 2007-08? Leave a comment and tell us what you think.

2013 NFL Draft Done, Smith Re-Signs

April 30, 2013 Nate Mallon Leave a Comment

The 2013 NFL Draft has now passed us and the Bengals are once again getting high grades from most draft experts. The team surprised many with their 1st round pick as they selected Notre Dame TE Tyler Eifert who was the highest rated TE coming into the draft. Tight End was not a top need for the team but Eifert along with TE Jermaine Gresham could become a scary tandem for teams to try to defend. Two tight ends of their caliber could provide numerous options for offensive coordinator Jay Gruden and the team clearly intends to own the middle of the field on offense. In the 2nd round the Bengals selected RB Giovani Bernard who could be the change of pace back they need to compliment Benjarvus Green-Ellis. They also drafted 6′ 8″ DE Margus Hunt and SS Shawn Williams in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. Seven of the teams ten picks were offensive.

2013 Cincinnati Bengals Draft Class:
Rd 1, Pick 21 (21) Eifert, Tyler TE (Notre Dame)
Rd 2, Pick 5 (37) Bernard, Giovani RB (North Carolina)
Rd 2, Pick 21 (53) Hunt, Margus DE (Southern Methodist)
Rd 3, Pick 22 (84) Williams, Shawn SS (Georgia)
Rd 4, Pick 21 (118) Porter, Sean OLB (Texas A&M)
Rd 5, Pick 23 (156) Hawkinson, Tanner OT (Kansas)
Rd 6, Pick 22 (190) Burkhead, Rex RB (Nebraska)
Rd 6, Pick 29 (197) Hamilton, Cobi WR (Arkansas)
Rd 7, Pick 34 (240) Fragel, Reid OT (Ohio State)
Rd 7, Pick 45 (251) Johnson, T.J. C (South Carolina)

In addition to the draft the team announced this past Friday that starting right tackle Andre Smith signed a 3 year, $18 million deal which is good news. Smith was the top rated RT in the league last year and bringing him back allowed the team to have more flexibility in the draft.

Bengals 2013 Pre-Draft Roster Changes

April 21, 2013 Nate Mallon Leave a Comment

We are just a few days away from the 2013 NFL Draft and for the most part the Bengals have accomplished the goals they set for themselves in re-signing most of their own players (with the exception of Andre Smith) and the few players that have departed were not in the teams plans to bring back so it seemed. The recent signing of LB James Harrison, who was released by the Steelers, was the biggest free agent signing and should only improve the weakest position group of the defense.

A complete list of off season additions & losses along with the players that have been re-signed thus far are listed below.

Off Season Additions
LB James Harrison (Pittsburgh)
TE Alex Smith (Cleveland)
OG Mike Pollack (Carolina)
QB John Skelton (Arizona)
QB Josh Johnson (Cleveland)

Off Season Losses
LB Manny Lawson (Buffalo)
RB Brian Leonard (Tampa Bay)
DT Pat Sims (Oakland)
LB Dan Skuta (San Francisco)
QB Bruce Gradkowski (Pittsburgh)
CB Jason Allen (Released)

Re-signed
DE Michael Johnson – 1 year (franchise tag)
DE Wallace Gilberry – 3 years
DE Robert Geathers – 3 years
CB Adam Jones – 3 years
CB Terrance Newman – 2 years
LB Rey Maualuga – 2 years
RB Cedric Peerman – 2 years
K Mike Nugent – 2 years
P Kevin Huber – 5 years
LS Clark Harris – 5 years
WR Andrew Hawkins – 1 year
S Jeromy Miles – 1 year
WR Brandon Tate – 1 year
RB Bernard Scott – 1 year

The teams most obvious remaining needs seem to be at the Safety position on defense and the Running Back position on offense and then Right Tackle if Andre Smith does not re-sign. Some also believe the Bengals should solidify depth at LB and WR early in the draft and possibly even DE as both Michael Johnson and Carlos Dunlop each currently have 1 year left on their deals if longer term contracts are not agreed upon prior to the season.

Mock drafts have predicted a wide range of players to the Bengals in the 1st round such as Texas S Kenny Vaccaro, Florida S Matt Elam, Alabama OT D.J. Fluker, Kansas State LB Arthur Brown, or Georgia LB Alec Ogletree.

Our hope is that the team is able to select Texas safety Kenny Vaccaro to start immediately at strong safety and form a solid starting safety duo along with Reggie Nelson. If he is not available we would be excited with OT D.J. Fluker who would be an obvious starter if Andre Smith does not come back, also safeties Matt Elam and Jonathan Cyprien could be solid choices to start at safety if Vaccaro is off the board.

The draft kicks off on Thursday, April 25th at 8pm ET.