If the Cincinnati Bengals want to add a tight end in free agency, they sit dangerously close to the finish line.
Wednesday, Austin Hooper was the latest name to leave the market at the position, joining the Las Vegas Raiders. Two days before that, Dalton Schultz, one of the biggest names on the market, found a home with the Houston Texans.
Foster Moreau, who visited the Bengals last week and seemed like a good fit as Joe Burrow’s former LSU teammate, went to visit the Saints. Wednesday, he announced that his physical with the Saints turned up a diagnosis of Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, putting his football career on hold.
This leaves the following names as options for the Bengals at a likely one-year deal bargain sort of price: Dan Arnold, Cameron Brate, Geoff Swaim and Cincinnati’s own Drew Sample and Mitchell Wilcox.
Problem is, the Bengals lost the top three names on the depth chart at the position. It was always a draft need, but it becomes a little more complicated now with the big names off the market, barring some sort of unforeseen trade they hope to make happen.
Maybe in hindsight, this looks like it wasn’t a problem at all, but it does appear the team whiffed on the market at this spot and can, at best, hope to get some of their own back if Sample or Wilcox want to re-up.
