Bengals sign former Ohio State star to future contract

The Cincinnati Bengals have agreed to terms with another former college football star straight out of the Buckeye state. According to Ohio State beat writer Bill Rabinowitz, the Bengals have agreed to terms with punter Drue Chrisman.

Chrisman spent time on Cincinnati’s practice squad during this season after going undrafted in the 2021 NFL draft. And although he’s making his way back to the team, this contract will not go into effect until Feb. 14, the day after the Super bowl.

Chrisman has signed a reserve/ future contract. This allows a team to get an early jump on signing players for next year’s training camp before the next league year begins. So similar to players under full contract, Chrisman is a Bengal by the time OTA’s involuntary training camps start, ready to compete for the starting punter position.

Chrisman is a native of Lawrenceburg, IN, some 35 minutes away from Paul Brown Stadium, the home of the Bengals. He played his college ball for the Ohio State Buckeyes for four seasons, from 2017to 2020. Chrisman average for his career 44 yards per punt with the Buckeyes. That mark puts him at 4th best in Ohio State school history.

For Cincinnati, they are hoping to hit it big in the kicking department after a Grand Slam pick-up in fellow rookie kicker Evan McPherson. And with incumbent kicker Kevin Hubbard in his 13th season, it’s wise for the Bengals to have a young talented backup plan waiting in the wings.

Bengals tight end CJ Uzomah listed as questionable for Super Bowl 56

The Super Bowl status of Cincinnati Bengals tight end CJ Uzomah remains murky. Uzomah was once again held out of practice Friday, putting his status for the Feb. 13 battle with the Los Angeles Rams in doubt.

The seventh-year tight end out of Auburn suffered a knee injury in the AFC Championship against Kansas City. He has not returned to practice since.

Uzomah had a career year in 2021, finishing the regular season with 49 catches for 493 yards and five touchdowns. He set a season-high with six receptions in the wild card game against Las Vegas before breaking it the following week with seven against Tennessee.

He is currently listed as questionable with a little more than a week to heal up for the contest.

But CJ Uzomah isn’t the only Bengal whose status is in the air for the Super Bowl. Receiver Stanley Morgan (hamstring), defensive end Cameron Sample and defensive tackle Josh Tupou are all listed as questionable.

It has been a miracle season for the Bengals, who are set to appear in just their third Super Bowl in franchise history. Despite entering as the four seed, Cincinnati reeled off victories against top-seeded Tennessee and the two seed Chiefs. Now it has an opportunity to claim its first ever Super Bowl victory.

Part of the reason for the Bengals’ rise can be attributed to second-year quarterback Joe Burrow. It has been a breakout season for the LSU product, who finished sixth in the NFL with 4,611 passing yards and 34 touchdowns. He helped to lead Cincinnati back from a 21-3 deficit last week against the Chiefs.