Tag: Drew Sample

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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Former Bengals TE Drew Sample tried out for Cardinals

Sample played in only two games in 2022 because of a knee injury. He tried out for the Cardinals on Wednesday.

The Arizona Cardinals have done little to the tight end room this offseason. Maxx Williams and Stephen Anderson have not been re-signed and they added Noah Togiai.

We might see another addition.

According to the NFL transaction report on Wednesday, the Cardinals had tight end Drew Sample in for a tryout.

Sample played the last four seasons for the Cincinnati Bengals after being drafted in the second round in 2019 out of Washington.

He appeared in only two games last season, as he suffered a knee injury that needed surgery and ended his 2022 season.

Sample is 6-foot-4 and 258 pounds. He has 58 career receptions for 458 yards and a touchdown. Most of that production came in 2020. That year, he appeared in 16 games, starting 13 of them. He played in 81% of the Bengals’ offensive snaps that season and he caught 40 passes for 349 yards and a touchdown.

Zach Ertz is coming back from a torn ACL and is hopeful he will be able to play in Week 1. Trey McBride, the Cardinals’ second-round pick last year, should play a large role.

If they were to sign Sample, it would give them another starting-caliber player at the position.

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

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Bengals free agent TE Drew Sample visits Cardinals

Another Bengals free agent takes a visit with another team.

Cincinnati Bengals free agent tight end Drew Sample’s name has come up on the market this week.

According to Field Yates of ESPN, Sample had a workout with the Arizona Cardinals.

It’s the first major note about Sample in free agency. A second-round pick by the Bengals in 2019, he scored one touchdown during his time with the team and was primarily a valuable part of the offense as a blocker.

Sample was one of three tight ends the Bengals let hit the open market this offseason, alongside Hayden Hurst and Mitchell Wilcox. Hurst ended up signing with the Carolina Panthers, while the Bengals added Irv Smith Jr. later.

It’s effectively a lock the Bengals will use a draft pick on the position at some point, though Sample visiting elsewhere doesn’t rule out his returning to Cincinnati at a later date.

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Bengals move Drew Sample to IR as prep for Ravens starts

A notable roster move for the Bengals.

The Cincinnati Bengals started the march to “Sunday Night Football” against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 5 by moving tight end Drew Sample to injured reserve.

Cincinnati announced the move on Monday after Sample’s surgery.

A second-round product, Sample suffered the injury during the Week 2 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. At the time, reports said the injury would likely cost him the entire season.

With Sample out, the Bengals will lean on Mitchell Wilcox and waiver-wire claim Devin Asiasi, one of three adds on the wire at the end of training camp as teams cut down to 53 players. They also have Nick Bowers on the practice squad at the position.

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Bengals TE Drew Sample could miss remainder of season

The Bengals lose a piece of the offense.

Cincinnati Bengals tight end Drew Sample will miss extended time after suffering a knee injury during his team’s Week 2 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

According to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com, the injury and subsequent surgery could cost him the rest of the season.

“Drew’s just one of those tough, smart football players. He’s what we want to be about. There’s just so many of those little nuances,” Bengals head coach Zac Taylor said. “Sure, you coach him, James (Casey) coaches his tail off to get those guys ready, but Drew is one of those guys that really sees it from a coach’s mindset. I’m not going say it comes easy to him because he really works at it. He’s really physical, he’s blocked some big time guys at times, lots of key plays over the past couple of years and just a reliable guy.”

Sample, a second-round pick, has been a primary piece of the offense as a blocker while free-agent add Hayden Hurst handles the pass-catching duties.

With Sample out, Devin Asiasi will make his debut against the New York Jets in Week 3, health provided. He was one of three notable waiver wire claims by the team while the league cut down to 53 players this summer.

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Bengals provide return updates on Joe Burrow, Drew Sample’s knee injury

Updates on Joe Burrow and Drew Sample.

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The Cincinnati Bengals will classify quarterback Joe Burrow as “day to day” as he finishes up recovering from undergoing surgery to have his appendix removed.

The news about tight end Drew Sample from Bengals head coach Zac Taylor isn’t as rosy. Sample went down with an injury on Thursday and left the field on a cart.

According to Paul Dehner Jr. of The Athletic, Taylor says the Bengals “probably dodged a bullet” with Sample’s injury and that he should only be out a few weeks with the left knee injury.

With Sample sidelined, Mitchell Wilcox, Thaddeus Moss and Scotty Washington will be among those getting a chance to take notable reps.

While the team doesn’t want to put an official timeline on Burrow’s return for obvious reasons, it’s reasonable to expect he’ll be back throwing within the next week, especially after “running” sprints from his golf cart the other day.

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See it: Bengals TE Drew Sample among names working at ‘TE University’

Cincinnati Bengals tight end Drew Sample put in extra work ahead of a critical third year.

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Cincinnati Bengals tight end Drew Sample was among the many names at the recent “TE University” positional summit.

Those positional summits have become increasingly popular in recent years for NFL players and this one isn’t any different. The first-ever summit of its kind went down recently and Sample was there, as he and the summit itself shared on social media.

The summit, put on by veterans George Kittle, Travis Kelce, and Greg Olsen, was a hit for all involved in the same way Von Miller’s pass-rushing summits are for defenders.

For Sample specifically, the former second-round pick heads into a critical third year where he hopes to see an uptick in playing time and more targets in the Joe Burrow-led passing attack.

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Six points with David Dorey: Week 3

David Dorey looks at the most interesting six things heading into the weekend.

Week 2 was a bit of a disaster. There were plenty of points scored, more than you usually see in Week 2. But – the injuries. Hope you were wise (or lucky) when you made your first-round pick, because anyone who picked Christian McCaffrey, Saquon Barkley, Michael Thomas and Davante Adams had to wince when they went to set their starting lineups this week. Let’s hope that was just an abberant week and not the start of a trend. Far too many players with “I”, “X” or “O” beside their name.

The fear was that COVID-19 would knock out a lot of players. Ends up the lack of preseason games and offseason training would have the far bigger impact.

Six things I am thinking about heading into the weekend:

  1. Difference between 2019 and 2020 – Besides masks, social unrest, and working in sweat pants, at least the NFL hasn’t changed much comparing Weeks 1 and 2 between last year and this season.  The yardages gained by each fantasy position are all within a couple of meaningless percentage points between years. Oddly, scoring is up and yet yardage is not. Here are the only areas with any notable change for the first two weeks of the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
    The return of Cam Newton helped spike the increase in quarterback rushing stats, but overall, defenses are not holding opponents out of the endzone as well for the start of the year. We’ll see how the spate of recent injuries changes the trends.
  2. NY Giants backfield – Losing Saquon Barkley turns a bad year even more bleak, but that doesn’t mean all the fantasy value has left the offense. The backfield now belongs to Dion Lewis, Wayne Gallman and newly-signed Devonta Freeman. Gallman is unlikely to be more than just depth and the occasional carry. Freeman signed on for  “up to $3 million”, but the Falcons released him back in March for a reason. He hasn’t been the same since 2018 when he injured his knee and foot.Lewis will be the primary back at least until Freeman gets up to speed but he’ll retain the pass-catching role that is likely more productive than the rushing. The offensive line is a problem and there won’t be much rushing success by any of these backs, but catching the ball when the quarterback is hurried should be the place to place your fantasy bets.
  3. WR Michael Pittman – The Colts lost Parris Campbell indefinitely with a PCL injury so the depth chart changes for now. Technically, Zach Pascal was the flanker and Campbell played the slot. But the rookie Michael Pittman went from just two catches in his Week 1 debut to tying for the team lead with six targets last week in the win over the Vikings. Mo Alie-Cox was the surprise top receiver but Pittman ended as No. 2 with four  receptions for 37 yards. Pittman was the 2.02 pick in April and runs a 4.5/40 while 6-4 and 223 pounds. He’s the one to watch against the Jets this week since teams are focused on covering T.Y. Hilton.KJ
  4. WR KJ Hamler – The Broncos wideout drafted eight spots after Pittman finds himself in the same situation. Courtland Sutton tore his ACL and is gone for the rest of the season. Hamler stepped up after Sutton left the game in the second quarter and  ended tied for the lead with Jerry Jeudy with seven targets. Hamler caught three passes for 48 yards and just missed on a 45-yard bomb before the half. The Denver situation is bad with Sutton gone and Lock out, but the Broncos will need to throw even more. And while Hamler is only 5-9 and 180 pounds, he runs a sub 4.3/40. He faces the visiting Buccaneers this week for a good test to see if his usage continues to be as high.
  5. RB Darrynton Evans – Who? The third-round pick by the Titans hasn’t been active yet because he injured his hamstring right before the season started. He seemed likely to return in Week 2 but suffered a setback. In this season of injuries, Evans won the No. 2 job behind Derrick Henry and initially, the Titans only had those two running backs on their active roster. The Appalachian State star was drafted because he runs a 4.4/40 and is an accomplished receiver. He’s had full practices this week and is trending towards his debut. Henry already totals 56 carries for a pace that would end with 448 rushes. The veteran needs to dial back and let Evans show why they made him the No. 2 back for the Titans.
  6. TE Drew Sample – The Bengals spent their 2019 second-round pick on the 6-4, 258-pound tight end from the University of Washington who only caught five passes as a rookie and missed several games with an ankle injury. But he was added as a pass-catcher first and runs a relatively quick 4.7/40. With C.J. Uzomah’s season-ending injury last week, Sample was thrust into the starting role and fielded nine targets for seven catches for 45 yards. He plays at the Eagles this week, the same defense that has already allowed four scores to the position.

Pressure is on Drew Sample to step up for Bengals with C.J. Uzomah reportedly lost for season

Drew Sample will have to step up for the Cincinnati Bengals with C.J. Uzomah out.

The Cincinnati Bengals are about to find out if the investment in Drew Sample was a wise one.

During Thursday night’s loss to the Cleveland Browns, starting tight end C.J. Uzomah went down with an injury. One could tell by his reaction and how quickly team ruled it out that he’d miss some extended time.

Not long after, reports confirmed Uzomah will miss the rest of the season with a torn Achilles, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

The pressure on Sample, a surprise second-round pick in 2019 during Zac Taylor’s first draft, is officially on.

Sample got in nine games as a rookie and caught just five passes. The narrative about his blocking-only status started to change Thursday night though when he showed up second on the receiving chart by catching seven of his nine targets for 45 yards.

Given Joe Burrow’s shaky rapport with non-Tyler Boyd wideouts right now, Sample could quickly become a main fixture of the offense. It’s a chance for both he and Taylor to prove doubters wrong, to say the least.

Sample probably won’t be able to fill the incredible leadership gap Uzomah has commanded as of late. Few could. But if he can be a consistent target for a rookie passer, he can fil the role of safety net and help Burrow develop at a steady clip.

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