Bengals TE Drew Sample cleared from injury sooner than expected
Depth hasn't been this strong on the Cincinnati Bengals' roster in… maybe forever? The projected 53-man Week 1 roster is one that can compete with any team in the NFL. The lone area of perceived weakness beyond the starter is at tight end. The position group swapped out Hayden Hurst for Irv Smith Jr., but […]
Depth hasn't been this strong on the Cincinnati Bengals' roster in… maybe forever? The projected 53-man Week 1 roster is one that can compete with any team in the NFL.
The lone area of perceived weakness beyond the starter is at tight end. The position group swapped out Hayden Hurst for Irv Smith Jr., but remains very thin should an injury to Smith occur.
Drew Sample is the second line of defense (or in this case, offense), as he has been for his entire Bengals career up to this point. Fortunately, the Bengals got to see him practice sooner than expected this offseason.
Per Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com, Sample' rehab from his torn ACL suffered early last season went quicker than previously hoped. Instead of making his return for training camp, the fifth-year veteran got back to work in uniform during mandatory minicamp.
"Tight end Drew Sample has had a rapid rehab from the knee injury that wiped all but one game last season. It was thought he wouldn't be ready for training camp, but he was cleared for this week's camp" – Bengals.com's Geoff Hobson
The second season-ending injury Cincinnati dealt with last year happened to Sample in Week 2. He tore his ACL against the Dallas Cowboys, making a thin tight end position group even thinner for the rest of the year. It elevated Mitchell Wilcox and Devin Asiasi's respective places on the depth chart, but only the latter remains with the team.
Two weeks before the NFL Draft, the Bengals re-signed Sample to a one-year, veteran minimum deal. His market as a backup tight end coming off a serious injury was little-to-none, giving the Bengals an easy lane to make something happen.
Sample still projects as the No. 2 tight end this year, as his familiarity with the offense and blocking ability trumps his fellow reserves for the role. That he's already got some practice reps in before next month's training camp should lock him into the job whej September comes around.
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Featured image via © Kareem Elgazzar/The Enquirer / USA TODAY NETWORK
