Tag: Drew Sample

Bengals re-sign TE Drew Sample to 3-year deal

The Bengals bring back a key part of the offense.

The Cincinnati Bengals have brought back tight end Drew Sample on a three-year contract.

Cincinnati announced the move on Monday, not long after free agency’s legal-tampering period opened.

It’s an anticipated move for a Bengals team that spent a second-round pick on Sample and has utilized him as a key blocker in the offense. The team wants to develop more under-center and varied looks in Joe Burrow’s offense, so getting his skill set back in the fold was one of the many expected moves this offseason.

That said, the fact it’s a three-year deal is a mild surprise. Cincinnati entered that tampering period with zero tight ends on the roster, so Tanner Hudson and others could be back soon, too, before the team adds more outside veterans and/or rookies.

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5 TEs the Colts should target in 2024 free agency

Which TEs should the Colts target in free agency?

The tight end position for the Indianapolis Colts is a bit in flux entering free agency and the 2024 offseason.

Starter Mo Alie-Cox hasn’t proven to be a difference-maker while his run-blocking abilities seem to have plateaued. Kylen Granson is a nice H-back and receiving option to have. Jelani Woods missed the entire season due to a hamstring injury, and Andrew Ogletree’s future with the team is in serious question after being placed on the Comissioner Exempt List.

Rookie Will Mallory showed some upside as a receiver, but he didn’t factor much into the plans for the majority of the season.

Though drafting a tight end may certainly be on the docket for Indy, adding a viable veteran in free agency is an option as well. Finding a true Y tight end who can run block with consistency while adding some upside as a receiver should be the objective.

This position isn’t a major need for the Colts, but it would help the development of young quarterback Anthony Richardson.

We should note that we understand a some of these players won’t even hit the market, but we’re working under the hypothetical scenario that they become available, regardless of how slim the chances are.

Here are five free-agent tight ends the Colts should target in 2024:

1 pending free agent Chargers should target: AFC North Edition

Listing one free agent from the Steelers, Ravens, Browns and Bengals who could be a fit for the Chargers.

The Chargers won’t be aggressive when it comes to signing free agents, as they’re currently $35 million over the projected salary cap.

While they’re cash-strapped, general manager Joe Hortiz will make some moves to have some spendings available to them so they can sign some.

That said, I will list one pending free agent from each team in the NFL that could be a realistic target for L.A.

Next up is the AFC North.

Bengals make late additions to final Vikings vs. Bengals injury report

The Bengals added two names to the injury report before kickoff.

The Cincinnati Bengals looked about as healthy as it gets for a mid-December game on the final injury report before the team’s Week 15 encounter with the Minnesota Vikings.

Unfortunately for the Bengals, though, the team had to update the final injury report the day after it was issued, adding offensive lineman Jackson Carman and tight end Drew Sample to the list as “questionable” due to illnesses.

While Carman is merely deep depth, Sample missing the game would he quite the setback for the offense.

That new-look offense that is confusing defenses hinges a lot of its pass protection and run-game success on Sample’s blocking ability, so the team will have to hope that whatever’s ailing the tight end clears up by kickoff time on Saturday.

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Watch: Jake Browning hits Drew Sample for TD to put Bengals up over Steelers

Jake Browning leads the Bengals to a TD.

The Cincinnati Bengals scored the first touchdown of Sunday’s game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second quarter.

There, Jake Browning — starting in place of the injured Joe Burrow — sold a fake well and hit Drew Sample, who barreled over Mitchell Wilcox to put the Bengals up 7-3.

It was an ugly first quarter overall for the offense, but a big kickoff return from Trayveon Williams and a Ja’Marr Chase catch off a deflected pass put the Bengals in good field position.

Notably, the Bengals stuck to their word about running the same exact offense and that included going repeatedly to the pass in the redzone, resulting in the score.

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Bengals 2023 player profile for TE Drew Sample

A 2023 profile for Bengals TE Drew Sample.

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The Cincinnati Bengals again experienced some turnover at the tight end position this offseason.

One of those moves, though, was retaining former second-round pick Drew Sample, who again slots nicely into the depth chart as a key player.

 

Experience: 5 years (Round 2, 2019)

Age: 27

College:  Washington

2022 PFF Grade: 52.3

Numbers to Know: 58 career catches, 458 yards.

Resume and Outlook: Sample is key in the sense he’s a fantastic pass-blocker for the position. The question is whether the scheme uses him all that much in 2023 given how predictable it can make things — or if he develops as a late-bloomer into a more potent receiving threat. As it stands, he’s at least ahead of schedule on his injury comeback and ready to put in work during training camp, competing with and alongside new arrival Irv Smith Jr. and others.

Highlights:

 

Other 2023 Bengals player profiles: 

Position Name
OL Jaxson Kirkland
DE Tarell Basham
RB Chris Evans
DE Jeff Gunter
P Brad Robbins
LB Jaylen Moody
TE Drew Sample

 

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Bengals TE Drew Sample making faster injury comeback than expected

Good news for the Bengals on the injury front.

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Defensive centerpiece DJ Reader might be dealing with a minor injury before training camp, but the Cincinnati Bengals did get some good news on the injury front this week.

Tight end Drew Sample, expected to receive clearance by training camp later this summer, already has said clearance to return, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com.

Sample appeared in just two games last season and the team brought him back this offseason on a one-year deal.

The former second-round pick’s quick return from an injury is good for player and team — tight end was one of the positions least addressed by the team this offseason, with Irv Smith Jr. the notable name presumed to take over the No. 1 spot left vacant by Hayden Hurst’s departure.

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Bengals talk about Drew Sample’s return to TE room

Bengals coaches are happy to get Drew Sample back.

The Cincinnati Bengals brought back Drew Sample in free agency and hope the former second-round pick can keep ascending.

Bengals tight ends coach James Casey, also a fifth-round pick (2009), recently explained why the fifth year is often a critical point for tight ends in the NFL.

“Ascending players,” Casey said, according to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. “From personal experience (his fifth season), that’s when I felt like, ‘I’ve got the confidence. I’ve got the understanding. Now I can really cut it loose.’ Tight end is so hard to learn. The pass game. The run game. Special teams. So many nuances. When you know the basics, you can now focus on the things you need to be really good.”

It’s no secret tight end is one of the tougher positions to learn in the NFL (just look at the track record of first-round TEs over the last decade).

What’s interesting is whether Sample will get a chance to blossom out of his block-heavy role. The team added Irv Smith Jr. in free agency and could draft the position as high as the first round.

Even so, Casey’s comments are interesting and worth keeping in mind should Sample play a bigger role in the offense than expected in 2023.

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What Bengals re-signing Drew Sample means for draft plans

How does Drew Sample coming back impact the Bengals in the NFL draft?

After losing three tight ends to free agency, the Cincinnati Bengals have now added two to the roster before the 2023 NFL draft.

The first was obviously outsider Irv Smith Jr., while the return of Drew Sample is the latest, which was announced on Friday by the team.

So for those wondering what the move means for the Bengals on draft day and otherwise the answer is…not too much.

The fact the Bengals took Sample in the second round four years ago has chased him throughout his career. But the reality is he’s more of a blocking tight end than a weapon in the passing game and that’s unlikely to change now.

But that’s not a bad thing to have in the second or third spot on a depth chart. It’s a bummer for fans and the team that he didn’t blossom into more and match expectations of the draft slotting, sure, but he still provided niche value in running and subpackage situations.

That also means his return won’t stop the Bengals from drafting the position as early as the first round. Adding say, Notre Dame’s Michael Mayer in the first round would mean Smith is second on the depth chart and Sample third at best.

But it’s just as easy to envision the team plans for Smith to be that No. 1 guy like Hayden Hurst last year, while Sample again sits in that 2-3 range on the depth chart.

That’s the nice thing about Sample coming back — the Bengals need bodies and versatility at the position. But like the moves at other positions this offseason such as cornerback, Sample’s return doesn’t stop the team from adding a high draft pick there if the board falls the right way.

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Bengals bring back TE Drew Sample in free agency

The Bengals bring back one of their own in free agency with tight end Drew Sample.

The Cincinnati Bengals have brought back tight end Drew Sample ahead of the 2023 NFL draft.

A second-round pick by the Bengals in 2019, Sample has played a key role for the offense when called upon as a blocker. Bringing him back, if possible, was an obvious point of the offseason plan for the team given his value in a niche role.

Sample’s return won’t stop the Bengals from using a draft pick on the position as early as the first round. But his sitting on the depth chart next to new arrival Irv Smith Jr. makes for a nice balance that doesn’t require the team to draft it immediately.

Sample visited with the Arizona Cardinals before re-upping.

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