One of the unfortunate early storylines during HBO's Hard Knocks (how long ago was that?) was losing Reggie Kelly to a season-ending injury. Soon afterwards, the Bengals lost Ben Utecht to a nasty concussion that eventually forced the Bengals to negotiate an injury settlement, releasing him as a free agent. With Kelly soon to become an unrestricted free agent and Utecht's question if he'll play again, the Bengals, as it stands, have Chase Coffman, Darius Hill and Clark Harris under contract for 2010. Daniel Coats and J.P. Foschi are both restricted free agents and very easily could return.
But as it stands, that's how the Bengals tight end prospects appear right now. Words like bleak, dim, grim, desolate, dreary, gaunt, bare, gloomy, somber, funereal, depressing come to mind.
One of our offseason questions this year is: Will the Bengals bring Reggie Kelly back, who is a leader, great character and lockerroom presence or will they move on with unproven youth? Geoff Hobson writes that the Bengals haven't contacted Kelly's agent, but his agent expects there to be contact at some point. Kelly has played in ten seasons in the NFL, six of them with the Bengals (excluding 2009, obviously). In those six seasons with Cincinnati, Kelly has caught 184 passes for 1,718 yards and five touchdowns.
Your question of the day. If you were the general manager, based on where the team is at and what you know, would you bring Reggie Kelly back?