The Indianapolis Colts did not match the Bengals’ offer to tight end Ben Utecht so he is the newest member of the team.  Utecht had signed an offer sheet for a three-year, $9 million deal back on March 14th. But since he was a restricted free agent, the Colts had a little time to match the deal.

Utecht said he is excited to join the Bengals but won’t be there when the team starts their offseason strength and conditioning workouts on Monday.  But he will be there as soon as he can and I’m sure it won’t take long for him to get acclimated with the team.

Carson Palmer hasn’t really had a tight end that can run and catch like Utecht. He will add another weapon to the offense and allows the Bengals to fill other holes in the draft.

The Bengals recently-designated franchise player signed a one-year option for $7.455 million.

It’s good that he signed and will be in for camp. I see too many players hold out and then aren’t as ready to play as they should be. Andrews isn’t guaranteed a starting spot so I think this shows he wants to be here and wants to work to get that spot.

The team is still working on signing Andrews to a long-term contract. This contract was to get him in camp and keep this from becoming a big distraction. Hopefully they can get something worked out for him.

Chad Johnson was on the Best Damn Sports Show Period and did more than hint at where he’d like to play.

Johnson said “If I end up in Dallas, I would just look at which finger I’m gonna put it on.  That’s it. Ain’t no ifs, ands or buts about it.”

Sure the Cowboys have a good offense but so do the Bengals. It’s just that the Cowboys have a decent defense and the Bengals lacked in that area last year. But the Cowboys would have to give up something to get Chad. Still, having Chad and TO on the same team would definitely be scary for opposing defenses.

At least it wasn’t a demand to be traded. I won’t hold it against Chad to daydream. But I hope he’s still a Bengal for years to come.

It’s now expected that T.J. Houshmandzadeh will join Chad Johnson in skipping the voluntary workouts that start next week. That will mean both of Cincy’s Pro Bowl wide receivers would be out for these workouts.

Houshmandzadeh is in the final year of a four-year contract and feels underpaid. He wants a new deal to stay with the Bengals. He also skipped the workouts last year so there’s not much reason to believe he’s going to show this year.

In a series of television appearances in Los Angeles, Chad Johnson said he would not be participating in the Bengals’ offseason strength and conditioning program that starts up next week.

In an interview at Current.com, Johnson said “I will not be there. There are a lot of issues that need to be dealt with. Nothing has changed.”

These workouts are voluntary and I don’t think it’s that unusual for stars to miss them. It happens with every team. But with all the drama that has gone on this offseason with Johnson, who knows what it really means.

At least he’s not in the news every day proclaiming how much he wants to play for other teams. The Bengals have said they are not trading him and I can’t imagine Johnson sitting out the season. That’s a lot of money to waste and I truly think he enjoys playing and the attention he gets from it.

Still, the threat of him not playing could lead the team to look into other options. No Johnson on the field would definitely hurt the offense and I’m sure the team would rather have players that want to be there than someone who could upset the team chemistry.

Wide receiver Tab Perry has signed a one-year deal with the Miami Dolphins. In 2005, Perry was a sixth-round pick out of UCLA. He has played all three seasons of his career with the Bengals.

Perry mostly played specials teams and was used as a kickoff returner. But he’s only played in four games the past two seasons because of a recurring hip injury. The team had hoped to re-sign him but weren’t willing to give a lot of money to someone that has been injured so much recently.

He should get more chance to play in Miami as long as he’s healthy. This opens a spot on the offense for the Bengals and I’ve seen talk of them drafting a wide receiver fairly high this year. I’m sure that if a player they covet falls enough, they won’t hesitate to pick up a receiver even though the team has three good ones already. You know what you’re getting with Chad Johnson and T. J. Houshmandzadeh but Chris Henry is a wild card. When he plays, he can really help the team but he missed half of last season due to a suspension. He seems to have stayed out of trouble since then and let’s hope that continues.

The Bengals have signed Colts tight end Ben Utecht to an offer sheet for what I’ve seen is a three-year contract.

Utecht is a restricted free agent so the Colts have a week to match the offer. He was a college free agent out of Minnesota and has played in 41 career games with 30 starts for the Colts.

Last season, Utecht played in 14 games and had 31 catches for 364 yards and one touchdown. For his career, he has 71 catches for three touchdowns.

The Bengals had talked about drafting a pass-catching tight end this year and if the Colts don’t match the offer, Utecht could fill that spot. I have seen the Colts play quite a bit and Utecht is a talented player. I’m sure Carson Palmer will love having yet another receiver to throw to.

Because Utecht was a college free agent, it doesn’t look like the Bengals will have to give up a draft pick to the Colts.

With all the players that have left the team, it’s good to see a few stay. The Bengals have re-signed punter Kyle Larson and linebacker Dhani Jones.

I’m not sure about the numbers on the contracts but Larson got a five-year deal and Jones got a three-year deal.

Jones signed with the team last year when the defense was hit with several injuries. He picked up things quickly and finished second on the team in tackles with 111. He’s a good character guy and a good influence off the field.