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.