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UPDATE
In the immortal words of Lee Corso, not so fast my friend.
Earlier today, news broke that the Cincinnati Bengals were expected to sign former Buffalo Bills tight end O.J. Howard.
However, that was before the Bengals landed former New England Patriots tight end Devin Asiasi.
Now, head coach Zac Taylor says there are not expected to be any more signings at tight end today, which could mean Howard won’t land with the Bengals.
Or, it could simply mean the signing won’t happen today but could later this week.
We will keep you posted on how this situation develops in the coming days.
Update from Zac Taylor after the #Bengals a tight end off waivers: he doesn’t expect the team to sign anyone else today.
— Jeremy Rauch (@FOX19Jeremy) August 31, 2022
Could spell the end of the short-lived OJ Howard movement.
The Cincinnati Bengals look like they are in line to add some depth to their tight end group, O.J. Howard is in Cincinnati with the intention of joining the Bengals.
That was fast: The #Bengals are hosting FA TE OJ Howard on a visit today and assuming all goes well with the physical, he’s expected to sign, source said. The former first-rounder was a surprising cut yesterday and this should come together today.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 31, 2022
Howard was a first round selection by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2017 NFL draft. He was viewed as someone who could present potential mismatches for defenses, but his career just has not matched the expectations. He was signed by the Buffalo Bills this offseason, but he did not make the 53-man roster. We also don’t know at this time if Howard is joining the practice squad or potentially taking a spot on Cincinnati’s 53-man roster.
He has never caught more than 34 passes in a single season. After catching 11 touchdowns in his first two seasons, he has only managed to add four touchdowns the last three years. He also tore his Achilles in 2020 which resulted in him appearing in only four games.
This move adds some depth to the tight end position that also added Hayden Hurst this offseason. Howard will also be up against Drew Sample and Mitchell Wilcox on the tight end depth chart after the team recently cut Thaddeus Moss.
Odds are we won’t see much of Howard anytime soon since he still has to come in and learn the playbook. It looks like a pretty low risk acquisition by the Bengals that could pay off if Howard just gets back to his rookie production.
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