Zac Taylor Names Irv Smith Jr. Starting Tight End: 'He's A Good Weapon For Us'

Cincinnati reshaped its tight end room over the last few weeks.

CINCINNATI — Zac Taylor met with the media on Monday and confirmed Irv Smith Jr. will start at tight end.

The Bengals' head coach expects him to fill the role Hayden Hurst left behind.

"Yeah, we think he can come in and play that role for us," Taylor said. "There's always competition in that room, but that's the vision that we have for Irv (Smith Jr.) to come in there and fill that role that Hayden had for us."

Cincinnati signed Smith to a one-year deal that ranks outside the top 30 highest-paid tight ends.

Taylor is excited about the makeup of the room after adding the young tight end who's dealt with injury issues.

"I feel really good about adding Irv," Taylor said. "He's a good weapon for us based on what he's done so far. We liked him coming out of the draft and the years he spent in Minnesota, I think he fits what we're looking forw, and getting Drew (Sample) back is important for us as well. You know, he's been so valuable for us, you know, got hurt in the second week and didn't get a chance to play, but we like what he's done for us over the years. And then we got all those guys Devin (Asiasi) and a bunch of other guys that have really done a nice job last year, whether it's on the practice squad or on the 53 and so guys that we're excited about their future also."

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