Tag: irv smith jr.

TE Irv Smith Jr. signs one-year deal with the Cincinnati Bengals

Tight end Irv Smith Jr. signs one-year deal with AFC contenders

After spending the first four years of his career with the Minnesota Vikings, Irv Smith Jr. will have a new home for the 2023 season. Smith had multiple suitors in free agency, but ultimately, he signed with the Cincinnati Bengals on a one-year deal.

Smith was a second-round pick for the Vikings in 2019, but given the weapons around him like Dalvin Cook and Justin Jefferson, Smith never had a primary role in the offense. The Vikings then traded for T.J. Hockensen mid-season and Smith’s role in the offense quickly dwindled which caused the sides to go their separate ways.

Smith now teams up with Joe Burrow and Jamarr Chase who were on the opposing sideline of the 2019 Alabama–LSU game that is widely considered one of the best games ever played.

[mm-video type=video id=01gwjde6m7nejeawcsr1 playlist_id=01eqbz6mkdd99nyvkm player_id=01f1jz1vgtfhzk6ner image=https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/video/thumbnail/mmplus/01gwjde6m7nejeawcsr1/01gwjde6m7nejeawcsr1-7ebe4e84de1c7fcec3e70ccc3c3d563f.jpg]

[lawrence-auto-related count=1]

[lawrence-auto-related count=1]

Contact/Follow us @RollTideWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Alabama news, notes and opinion. You can also follow Sam Murphy on Twitter @SamMurphy02.

Vikings TE Irv Smith Jr. agrees one-year contract with Bengals

The former Minnesota Vikings second-round pick Irv Smith Jr. has agreed to a contract with the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Minnesota Vikings 2019 second-round pick Irv Smith Jr. has agreed to a one-year deal with the Cincinnati Bengals. Tne deal was reported by NFL Network’s Peter Schrager.

After the Vikings took him in the 2019 NFL draft, Smith Jr. never quite got his footing. 2021 felt like it was going to be his season after the Vikings moved on from Kyle Rudolph, but he tore his meniscus in the final preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs.

He fell out of favor with the Vikings this past season and the last straw was when he suffered a high ankle sprain against the Arizona Cardinals in late October. That was one of the catalysts of the T.J. Hockenson trade.

Smith Jr., goes to a really good situation in Cincinnati where he won’t be relied upon to be a heavy contributor, but his skillset up the seam and as a flex tight end will be valuable to the Bengals offense.

Best reactions after Bengals sign TE Irv Smith Jr. in free agency

Some reactions after the Bengals found a TE in free agency.

The Cincinnati Bengals struck a late-night deal in free agency with tight end Irv Smith Jr., formerly of the Minnesota Vikings.

A second-round pick in 2019 from Alabama, Smith is the latest in the line of underrated and underused tight ends to potentially start in the Joe Burrow-led offense.

If things work out the way the team hopes, Smith will end up being the latest breakout player at the position as a result of more chances than in the past and simply being a good fit.

While the addition of Smith doesn’t rule out signing other players at the position or even adding to it early in the draft, Smith’s underutilized fit had Bengals fans and otherwise excited.

Instant analysis after Bengals sign free agent TE Irv Smith Jr.

Instant reaction to the new signing for the Bengals.

The Cincinnati Bengals didn’t attack the tight end position as aggressively as some might have predicted when free agency opened.

But they got incredible value late Monday night/Tuesday morning with Irv Smith Jr. signing on the dotted line.

Smith, a second-round pick by the Minnesota Vikings in 2019, inked a one-year deal with the team and could very well be in a position for a major role in the offense next season.

A major recruit at Alabama, Smith never massively broke through with the Vikings while sparring with the likes of Kyle Rudolph for reps. His smaller frame (6’2″, 240 pounds) played a role in that, but he’s still scored nine touchdowns, five of those coming in his career-best year of 2020 when he averaged 12.2 yards per catch.

Notably, Smith hasn’t played a full season since his rookie year and surgery to repair a torn meniscus cost him his entire 2021 season.

Still, Smith is another former high draft pick like cornerback Sidney Jones who could realize some untapped potential with the Bengals, especially as a third or fourth option in the passing attack with Joe Burrow.

While fans might’ve wanted to see an even bigger name earlier in free agency, this is a nice way for the team to get the ball rolling after losing Hayden Hurst and with Mitchell Wilcox and Drew Sample still on the market.

Ideally, the Bengals will bring back at least one of those guys to provide depth behind Smith while also keeping the position in play for the draft — as early as Round 1.

At this stage of free agency, it’s hard to complain about adding a 24-year-old player with four seasons under his belt who fits with the program and could be the latest at the position to break out in Cincinnati — all while not impacting the draft possibilities.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1]

Bengals sign free agent TE Irv Smith Jr.

The Bengals make a splash in free agency at TE.

The Cincinnati Bengals have found their tight end in free agency.

According to Fox Sports’ Peter Schrager, the Bengals signed tight end Irv Smith Jr. to a one-year deal late Monday night.

Smith, 24, was a second-round pick by the Minnesota Vikings in 2019 and over three seasons had 858 yards and nine touchdowns over 37 games.

The Bengals had a serious need at the position with Hayden Hurst, Mitchell Wilcox and Drew Sample all free agents this offseason. Hurst signed with the Carolina Panthers, while the other two remain available.

As with the signing of cornerback Sidney Jones, the addition of Smith doesn’t mean the Bengals won’t draft the position as high as the first round. It’s also safe to presume they will look to bring back one of Wilcox or Sample, too.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3 category=1]

Vikings Wire staff: 1 player the Vikings shouldn’t re-sign

The staff at Vikings Wire each picked one player they don’t want the purple and gold to re-sign this offseason

The Minnesota Vikings entered this offseason with 25 free agents. They added a couple of them to futures contracts, lost OG Kyle Hinton to the Atlanta Falcons and re-signed both exclusive rights free agents Blake Brandel and Khyiris Tonga.

As it sits currently, the Vikings have a lot of decisions to make when it comes to free agency. They are nearly $24 million over the salary cap and will need to find ways to save money while also having capital to go and bring in talent.

Last week as a staff, we looked at the players that we wanted the Vikings to re-sign, including one from today’s list. Here are four players that we identified that we don’t want the Vikings to re-sign this offseason.

These 25 Vikings are free agents this offseason

The Vikings will have a lot of roster decisions this offseason

The season is over for the Minnesota Vikings and it’s time to focus on the offseason.

After this past offseason, the Vikings aren’t sitting with a ton of cap space, as they are currently $12.54 million over the cap in terms of effective cap space. That is with the Vikings current draft picks already factored in.

This Vikings team will have a slightly different look to it next season, as 25 players are a free agent with all of those being unrestricted free agents except for two restricted and two exclusive rights.

Here is who the Vikings have to either re-sign or replace this offseason.

Vikings sign TE Muse, release DT Day from practice squad

Former seventh-round pick makes his way back to the practice squad

The Minnesota Vikings needed to make room for both tight end Irv Smith Jr. and defensive end Jonathan Bullard on the active roster, which they did officially on Saturday afternoon. To do so, they needed to waive tight end Nick Muse.

On Saturday afternoon, they brought their seventh-round pick Muse back to the roster by signing him to the practice squad. To make room for him, the Vikings released defensive tackle Sheldon Day from the practice squad.

Muse has played in 10 games this season for the Vikings but hasn’t gotten a single snap on offense. He has seen 108 of them on special teams this season and the Vikings didn’t need to have four tight ends on the roster. He got his spot on the active roster due to the high ankle sprain that Smith Jr. suffered in week eight against the Arizona Cardinals.

Day signed with the Vikings practice squad the same day that they placed left tackle Blake Brandel on injured reserve. They had interest for a while, as they hosted him for a visit a month earlier on November 15th.

Vikings activate 2 from IR, elevate 2 others ahead of Week 18 vs. Bears

Both Smith Jr. and Bullard are officially back

The Minnesota Vikings have made a lot of roster moves over the past week and they continued that ahead on Sunday’s week 18 matchup against the Chicago Bears. As we had reported on Friday, the Vikings have officially activated both tight end Irv Smith Jr. and defensive end Jonathan Bullard.

Smith Jr. has been out since suffering a high ankle sprain against the Arizona Cardinals back in week eight. His addition will help the Vikings down the field and we could potentially see more 12 personnel to compensate for the season-ending Achilles injury to right tackle Brian O’Neill.

Bullard has been dealing with a bicep injury for most of the season and was on injured reserve for the last four weeks.

Along with both of those roster moves, the Vikings have elevated inside linebacker Ryan Connelly and center Kyle Hinton to the active roster for Sunday’s game against the Bears.

Connelly hasn’t seen any game action since being activated from the physically unable to perform list and Hinton has been elevated twice prior, dressing for only one game.

Vikings to activate defensive lineman Jonathan Bullard

As the postseason nears, the Vikings are getting more depth back along the defensive line.

The Minnesota Vikings are getting more good news as the playoffs near. Earlier on Friday, the Vikings announced that they would be activating tight end Irv Smith Jr., who has been out since week eight with an ankle injury.

The Vikings also announced that they’d be activating defensive lineman Jonathan Bullard. Bullard suffered a biceps injury earlier this season against the New York Jets and was placed on injured reserve.

Prior to his injury, Bullard showed flashes when he helped fill in for an injured Dalvin Tomlinson. In 11 games this season, Bullard has four total pressures and zero sacks. While it hasn’t been determined if Bullard will return to his starting role, his presence will help provide the team with flexibility and depth as a rotational defensive lineman.