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Bengals re-sign Bobby Hart 3 yrs $21 million


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Reports: Hart, Uzomah back in the fold

 

Hobson_Geoff

Geoff Hobson

SENIOR WRITER

 
 

Cincinnati offensive tackle Bobby Hart (68) and running back Joe Mixon (28) celebrate after Mixon's touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game in Cincinnati, Oh, Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston)

Joe Mixon (28) let Bobby Hart spike after a TD last season.

The Bengals and their new coaching staff appeared to get off on the right foot Monday when various reports indicated they’ve agreed to bring back two offensive starters their coaches targeted in free agency.

It’s believed that right tackle Bobby Hart and tight end C.J. Uzomah are expected to sign their deals as soon as Tuesday, the day before the first day of the new league year when free agents are allowed to sign with other teams.

In the wake of the Uzomah report, another one followed that Tyler Kroft, another tight end drafted in Uzomah’s class of 2015, had agreed to sign in Buffalo. All have been reported for three years and are thought to be in the $19-21 million range. The Bengals are apparently still talking to Tyler Eifert, the tight end that began the season in the starting lineup before missing the last 12 games with a dislocated ankle.

Hart, 24, started all 16 games last season and Jim Turner, the Bengals’ new offensive line coach, watched them all closely on film and left no doubt that he wanted him for more than 16 games. Turner has an excellent relationship with Hart’s coach at Florida State and had no trouble picking Jimbo Fisher’s brain. Turner made his thoughts well known on Hart at the NFL scouting combine earlier this month even though he dared not utter his name even before free agency started.

“I can’t comment on the right tackle because he’s unrestricted so I’m not sure what’s going to happen with him,” Turner said. “I thought he did a great job. I thought was phenomenal. I know he gave up some sacks and pressures and all this other business, but if you really watch him play, he played with passion and I thought he played well. He played for Jimbo, so I talked with Jimbo about him coming from Florida State. I just like what he brought to the table as far as energy is concerned. I think he’s an athlete and I think he’s a good player, a good, solid player.”

New head coach Zac Taylor’s staff apparently felt the same way about Uzomah, taken in the fifth round of a draft the Bengals took Kroft in the third round. Both fell victim to injuries last season. Kroft missed the last 11 games with a foot injury and couldn’t duplicate his career year in 2017 with 42 catches for 404 yards and seven touchdowns. It was Uzomah’s turn last season for a career year as the last tight end standing with 43 catches for 439 yards and three touchdowns while playing with a seriously injured shoulder for the last half of the schedule.

The athletically gifted Uzomah must have impressed them with his blocking and since he was basically one of the only healthy tight ends they had over the last half of the season, they saw plenty of that.

“They have to be able to do some things in the run game well enough, some things in the pass game well enough, but do they have to be great at either one? Not necessarily,” said new offensive coordinator Brian Callahan at the combine of what he expects from his tight ends. “I don't think you have to have a dominant tight end to be a good offense. Always nice to have one, but you don't have to have a player that excels at just one thing. As long as you have a guy that can do a bunch of things well enough, you can have a productive tight end unit.”

With Uzomah reportedly in the fold, he joins Mason Schreck, Jordan Franks and Cethan Carter as tight ends under contract.

 

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10 minutes ago, oldschooler said:

 

 

 

Reports: Hart, Uzomah back in the fold

 

Hobson_Geoff

Geoff Hobson

SENIOR WRITER

 
 

Cincinnati offensive tackle Bobby Hart (68) and running back Joe Mixon (28) celebrate after Mixon's touchdown during the first half of an NFL football game in Cincinnati, Oh, Sunday, Oct. 28, 2018. (AP Photo/Bryan Woolston)

Joe Mixon (28) let Bobby Hart spike after a TD last season.

The Bengals and their new coaching staff appeared to get off on the right foot Monday when various reports indicated they’ve agreed to bring back two offensive starters their coaches targeted in free agency.

It’s believed that right tackle Bobby Hart and tight end C.J. Uzomah are expected to sign their deals as soon as Tuesday, the day before the first day of the new league year when free agents are allowed to sign with other teams..

 

Hobson, you are a dumbass. 

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I read somewhere that Hart allowed 10 sacks and committed 14 penalties last year.  He might be young and still developing, but those kind of numbers don't deserve a massive raise.  Even if the free agent prices were crazy, I can't imagine he gets a better deal on the open market.  

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5 hours ago, MichaelWeston said:

If a signing like this doesn't make you question the Zac Taylor hire you are not paying attention. The same people made this decision. 

I want to know why Taylor didn't jump up and down and block the move. Even if we couldn't afford another free agent right tackle, nobody else was going to give Hart 7 mil per year. He's the sort of slug we usually wait 2 weeks into free agency to re-sign on the cheap. We'd have to use a high draft pick for a tackle but the high draft prospect tackles are better than Hart. 

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1 hour ago, Inigo Montoya said:

I read somewhere that Hart allowed 10 sacks and committed 14 penalties last year.  He might be young and still developing, but those kind of numbers don't deserve a massive raise.  Even if the free agent prices were crazy, I can't imagine he gets a better deal on the open market.  

He is about to turn 25 and begin his 5th year in the NFL. Most players figure out the snap count thing in 6th grade. 

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Hobknob seemed to imply that Turner's glowing endorsement of Hart at the combine was a big factor, but he doesn't negotiate contracts.  Neither does Taylor even if he also wanted him back.  All I know is that the new guys had better hope they can get more out of Hart.  Taylor's vision for this offense won't materialize unless they get the line issues resolved.  The good news is that this isn't the only move to be made on the oline.  We can only go up from here.  

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11 hours ago, akiliMVP said:

Someone talk me off the ledge

 

Jump.  If this is the way it starts, it ain't gettin' no better.  🤯

 

I figured a 1-year stopgap at about $3M.  3 X $7M is frickin' ridiculous.  Still need two more OT's.  $7M shoulda bought them Hart and a Journeyman LB.

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If they are going to draft a rookie in 1 or 2 to play RT, it would make no sense to sign an RT to a big contract.  No decent RT is gonna sign a deal in a place they think will be drafting their replacement.  So, they have nothing currently on the roster and no guarantee to get a player they want in the draft, especially if White is there at 11.  They had to get someone there and the price for average linemen is insane to the point that someone may have paid him 6 or 7 in a situation where they HAD to get someone and were cash strapped.  

 

Plus, they also have no real RG, which watching Hart's problems (imo not laterally quick enough), seems like it might be a better position for him any way.   

 

If they draft a beast at RT and he becomes a RG, then it's a good move.   If they intend to make him the RT for the next three years, then by all means continue on with the melt down.

 

 

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Bobby Hart, T, Cincinnati Bengals

The deal: Three years, $21 million
Grade: D-

It's difficult to find a silver lining in Cincinnati's move to re-sign Hart, who was cut by the Giants last year amid concerns that he had quit on the team. (Hart would later deny those claims.) The 24-year-old cleared waivers and went to injured reserve before signing a one-year deal during the offseason with the Bengals, who eventually installed the Florida State product as their starting right tackle.

Here's where would I normally say things went well and led the Bengals to sign Hart to a long-term deal. That isn't really what happened. Hart appears to have played pretty poorly in his debut season with the Bengals. While he stayed healthy and started all 16 games for the first time in his pro career, the former seventh-round pick allowed 11.5 sacks, per Stats LLC. Hart also committed 14 penalties, which tied him for fourth in the league. Nine of those penalties were false starts, which you can spin in either direction; a Hart supporter could suggest that Hart will cut out the false starts with experience, while a detractor might find it frustrating that Hart can't manage to line up and get off the snap on time on a regular basis.



Either way, Hart hasn't shown much suggesting he's even a competent NFL tackle. Incoming offensive line coach Jim Turner hand-waved away the concerns about sacks and pressures by talking about how Hart has played with passion, but the bottoms of NFL rosters and practice squads are full of players who have passion. It's not hard to find a player who cares. The Bengals are paying Hart to be an effective NFL lineman, and he simply isn't one. I can't imagine that Cincinnati guaranteed more than one season to Hart as part of this three-year pact. Since he is just 24, the Bengals would be in position to keep Hart around if he does break out, but this doesn't appear to solve Cincinnati's offensive line woes. If anything, the signing solidifies them.

 

Via Barnwell on ESPN. Emphasis my own.

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1 hour ago, F.Cleveland said:

If they are going to draft a rookie in 1 or 2 to play RT, it would make no sense to sign an RT to a big contract.  No decent RT is gonna sign a deal in a place they think will be drafting their replacement.  So, they have nothing currently on the roster and no guarantee to get a player they want in the draft, especially if White is there at 11.  They had to get someone there and the price for average linemen is insane to the point that someone may have paid him 6 or 7 in a situation where they HAD to get someone and were cash strapped.  

 

Plus, they also have no real RG, which watching Hart's problems (imo not laterally quick enough), seems like it might be a better position for him any way.   

 

If they draft a beast at RT and he becomes a RG, then it's a good move.   If they intend to make him the RT for the next three years, then by all means continue on with the melt down.

 

 

5

EXACTLY!!!

 

no decent one would... but a shitty one that was only going to get maybe half that on the open market sure as hell would.

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1 hour ago, WRAPradio said:

Saw this on Reddit:

 

3 yrs, $16MM up to $21MM with incentives.  $7.4MM in the first year, $5.5MM in the 2nd and 3rd year.  I guess that's a little better, right?

They could've paid him twice that like another OT just got signed for.

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9 hours ago, Inigo Montoya said:

Hobknob seemed to imply that Turner's glowing endorsement of Hart at the combine was a big factor, but he doesn't negotiate contracts.  Neither does Taylor even if he also wanted him back.  All I know is that the new guys had better hope they can get more out of Hart.  Taylor's vision for this offense won't materialize unless they get the line issues resolved.  The good news is that this isn't the only move to be made on the oline.  We can only go up from here.  

Haven't you read all the posts? That's it. FA is over for the Bengals. They're not even going to draft. Same old whiny bengals fans throwing fits. I guess if that makes them feel better.....

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3 minutes ago, Hooky said:

Haven't you read all the posts? That's it. FA is over for the Bengals. They're not even going to draft. Same old whiny bengals fans throwing fits. I guess if that makes them feel better.....

call names all you want.. 

He was literally one of/if not the worst tackles in football last year.. this is a terrible signing.

 

hey.. I hope I am wrong and he gets all his incentives... he is still young so I guess there is a chance

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1 hour ago, WRAPradio said:

Saw this on Reddit:

 

3 yrs, $16MM up to $21MM with incentives.  $7.4MM in the first year, $5.5MM in the 2nd and 3rd year.  I guess that's a little better, right?

Paid like a back-up that may have to start some in 19 and will be a back-up in 20 and 21.  He's an expensive insurance policy that provides depth, not the answer to fixing RT.  This is... not that big of a deal.

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24 minutes ago, fluhartz said:

call names all you want.. 

He was literally one of/if not the worst tackles in football last year.. this is a terrible signing.

 

hey.. I hope I am wrong and he gets all his incentives... he is still young so I guess there is a chance

Nobody knows how it's going to turn out or what the full plan is. Not even internet football geniuses. It's a little early to write off the entire season on one questionable signing like half of the fanbase has.

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