Approval Poll: Bengals sign tight end Hayden Hurst

The Cincinnati Bengals have found their replacement at tight end by signing former Atlanta Falcons tight end Hayden Hurst to a one-year deal. He is replacing C.J. Uzomah who signed with the New York Jets.

Hurst may be known best as the tight end the Baltimore Ravens selected in the first round before eventually drafting quarterback Lamar Jackson. His time in Baltimore was also hurt by the fact they drafted a better tight end in Mark Andrews that made him obsolete fairly quickly.

He has spent his last two seasons with the Falcons. He started off by having a career year with 56 catches on 88 targets for 571 receiving yards and six touchdowns. 2021 he saw a dip in that production. He only had 31 targets the entire season. Starting in four less games and playing in three less.

Hurst will likely be inheriting quite a bit of Uzomah’s 63 targets in a very crowed offense that include big names like running back Jo Mixon and wide receivers Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd surrounding quarterback Joe Burrow.

The one-year contract also is a double-edged sword here. The bad news is the team will likely need to either draft a developmental tight end this season or fill this whole again next offseason. The good news is there are plenty of high potential tight ends in this year’s draft that can be had in the mid-rounds.

Hurst was likely a bargain signing after the team lost out on re-signing Uzomah or signing other free agents like O.J. Howard or Tyler Conklin. We will have to wait and see how that plays out.

What are your thoughts on signing Hurst?

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