Bengals release Ben Utecht and Antonio Chatman from Injured Reserve; sign Brannon Condren to the practice squad

by Kirkendall on Nov 17, 2009 4:49 PM EST in Contracts Comment 21 comments

-- FILE -- In this July 28, 2008 file photo, Cincinnati Bengals tight end Ben Utecht takes a break during practice at training camp, in Georgetown, Ky. Utecht will release his first album on Tuesday, April 21, 2009 under the Stylos Records label. The 12-song album titled "Ben Utecht" is the first for the professional football player, who wrote songs about his faith.(AP Photo/Al Behrman)

9 months ago: -- FILE -- In this July 28, 2008 file photo, Cincinnati Bengals tight end Ben Utecht takes a break during practice at training camp, in Georgetown, Ky. Utecht will release his first album on Tuesday, April 21, 2009 under the Stylos Records label. The 12-song album titled "Ben Utecht" is the first for the professional football player, who wrote songs about his faith.(AP Photo/Al Behrman)

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In a somewhat of a surprising move in that category of moves that shouldn't surprise anyone, the Cincinnati Bengals announced that they released Antonio Chatman and Ben Utecht Tuesday afternoon. Both players were released from the reserve/injury list, which means they wouldn't affect the current 53-man roster. Utecht was scheduled to earn $2.25 million in 2009 and $2.5 million in 2010. Chatman was scheduled to earn $620,000 this year only.

Utecht's release is a bit surprising considering the tight ends they have signed for 2010. Chase Coffman. Clark Harris. And Harris is hardly a tight end, now taking on the role as the team's long snapper.

Makes you wonder what they'll plan for next year. Will Coffman be the leading tight end? Will they re-sign Utecht to a cheaper one-year deal? Will Reggie Kelly make his return with Cincinnati? What about J.P. Foschi, who I could argue has been a decent tight end on the rushing offense.

In other news of player transactions, the Bengals signed safety Brannon Condren to the team's practice squad on Tuesday. Since I have no idea who this guy is, I'll cite the Bengals.com piece.

Condren (6-1, 205; Troy) is a third-year NFL player. He opened 2009 with Indianapolis, but was waived on July 29. A fourth-round draft choice of Indianapolis in 2007, he played in eight games for the Colts that season, with two tackles, a pass defensed and four special teams tackles. He was waived by the Colts on Aug. 30, 2008. Later in ’08, he was inactive for four games with St. Louis and played in four games for Miami, with three special teams tackles.

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A few thoughts

This seems promising for Coffman, shows that they are prepared to go forward with him.

I expect Foshi to be resigned after the year, he has performed well and should be affordable.

I think that the Bengals could go TE in the Draft, especially if Gresham out of Oklahoma is available. I think the 3 spots that can be best upgraded in the coming first round are TE, Safety, and MLB, based on our expected draft position and needs.

by jim0ijk on Nov 17, 2009 5:04 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

maualuga’s being groomed as the mlb, so i would say go guard in the first round, due to the fact that bobbie williams is getting up there.

i'm going to go america all over your ass!

by Raging Clue on Nov 17, 2009 6:43 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

agreed on rey

We have a mlb his name is rey. Disagree on guard.Collins is bobbies replacement. We may go late on an olineman for depth but not #1. I’m thinking either safety, dline, or RB

by goffchile on Nov 17, 2009 6:54 PM EST via mobile up reply actions 0 recs

safety is probably the most likely choice, but it seems that marvin tends to look for them in the later rounds. then again, first round guard isn’t all that likely, unless of course we’re at the end of the round.

i'm going to go america all over your ass!

by Raging Clue on Nov 17, 2009 7:03 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

they'll draft the best player available

"Nate Silver is a genius" .... BK

by obc2 on Nov 17, 2009 10:24 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

i hope so. unless it’s a quarterback, obviously.

i'm going to go america all over your ass!

by Raging Clue on Nov 17, 2009 10:36 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

psychic will

Its funny. This morning I was pondering our tight end predicament and I couldn’t imagine a scenario where Utecht was on the team next year.

There are a pile of free agent TEs coming up next year. I think we resign Foschi for insurance and hit the market for coffmans platoon mate

by goffchile on Nov 17, 2009 5:07 PM EST via mobile reply actions 0 recs

Condren

They now have three DBs on the practice squad. With Roy going on the DL the safety position was getting thin. Historically during Marvin’s rein the roster has normally had 4 RBs. They now have 6. I was expecting Fui to get cut instead of Harris. Odds are Harris will be available if one of DL go down.

by redberkey on Nov 17, 2009 5:45 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

this is just not a bengals-type year in any way, is it?

i'm going to go america all over your ass!

by Raging Clue on Nov 17, 2009 6:44 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

This is weird

I just waived Utecht off my Bengals Madden roster last night to make it more realistic and then this happens. Its like a voodoo doll thing or something.

by St. Esiason on Nov 17, 2009 6:19 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Not the right spot for this comment

But does anyone else find it a little funny that Pittsburgh intentionallly crappy field reinjured their best player?

by jim0ijk on Nov 17, 2009 6:22 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

+1

by 80%OFTHETIMEIMRIGHTEVERYTIME on Nov 17, 2009 9:52 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

utecht needs to retire anyway; maybe this will help his decision.

i'm going to go america all over your ass!

by Raging Clue on Nov 17, 2009 6:44 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

I wish Ben..

would’ve been able to go out there and prove himself..wish him the best..maybe he’ll pursue that music career..i hear he’s pretty good…

i’ve seen several mocks that have Cincinnati takin CJ Spiller out of Clemson in the first round…hard to hate that pick…but doesn’t that mean being done with Scott?

I rarely get anything close to an “i told you so moment…” and well, this isn’t close, but last week on the post about Henry going down in an argument over who should be added to the roster, Purify or Simpson, I suggested giving them a week then bringing in Joey Galloway and was told it was a “Joke”…

Guess who worked out today? along with Doss and Ed Johnson…

by Lookouts00 on Nov 17, 2009 8:41 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

me too

Ben Utecht had a lot of potential: I had really been hopeful about the position after they signed him.

Bengals.com quotes the number of concussions he has had at 5. I assume that this issue looks different to a pro athlete with big dollars at stake, but if it were me… geez, I’d have serious doubts about keeping going with a contact sport like this. How many more could I take before doing some permanent damage?

by Mr. X on Nov 17, 2009 9:51 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

the damage has been done

just listen to his music.. even God hated it

by 80%OFTHETIMEIMRIGHTEVERYTIME on Nov 17, 2009 9:53 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

dude...

that’s a low blow. inappropriate. totally uncalled for.

by Lookouts00 on Nov 17, 2009 10:19 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

i hope the bengals resign utecht

he seemed like our only hope for a good TE next year, the guy has good hands and can block, and also had character. we need good guys like him on the team. hopefully the bengals can sign him to a lesser deal.

"God has blessed me and I will continue to do my best for him. This is more important than anything I could do in baseball." -Albert Pujols

by shortstopv2 on Nov 18, 2009 3:27 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

The problem with Utecht

…is that he and Coffman are cut from the same mold—primarily pass catching TEs with limited blocking skills. Assuming Coffman is ready to go next year, Utecht becomes redundant. More likely the Bengals go after a traditional blocking TE with some pass catching ability. If Reggie Kelly is healthy, then we try to sign him. If not, I think Anthony Fasano is a free agent and so is LJ Spiller. Both would fit the role well. Spiller could probably be snagged for cheap.

by goffchile on Nov 18, 2009 5:53 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

LJ Smith

…getting him mixed up with my fantasy that we draft CJ spiller.

by goffchile on Nov 18, 2009 6:03 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs

what did you see out of utecht to make you believe that? on a personal level, i liked him, but from a football standpoint, the guy wasn’t worth half of what we paid him.

i'm going to go america all over your ass!

by Raging Clue on Nov 18, 2009 10:00 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs