Former Alabama tight end Irv Smith Jr. recently signed a one-year deal with the Cincinnati Bengals after spending the first four years of his career with the team that drafted him in 2019, the Minnesota Vikings.
Recently, Smith revealed that he chose to sign with the Bengals over the Miami Dolphins. This means he chose to play with former SEC rival quarterback Joe Burrow of LSU over his own quarterback from Alabama, Tua Tagovailoa.
Well, it really wasn’t the quarterback that did it for Smith.
Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com spoke with Smith, who said,
“I felt like Cincinnati had the best chance to win a Super Bowl. “It’s a great organization. Great coaching staff. (Head coach) Zac Taylor was very adamant about me coming to the team knowing what I can do to help the offense. And the proof is in the pudding at the tight end position. Having a relationship with Ja’Marr (Chase), getting to play with Joe Burrow and those guys speaks for itself. I’ve watched a lot of Bengals games over the years. I wanted to be a part of this opportunity to chase a ring and be a part of something special … I feel like I’m almost the missing piece to get us that Super Bowl.”
The Miami Dolphins and Cincinnati Bengals both made the playoffs last season, but the Bengals have appeared in two consecutive AFC championship games and was in the Super Bowl just two seasons ago.
This likely isn’t Smith speaking down on Tagovailoa and other former Alabama players on the Dolphins. It’s smith making a business decision and used the prior two seasons as a way to justify his move.
Roll Tide Wir will continue to follow Smith and other former Alabama players in the NFL as the 2023 offseason continues.
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