So far, the St. Louis Rams feel good about taking tackle Jason Smith instead of tackle Andre Smith with the second overall pick in the NFL Draft.
Jason signed on time and made steady progress through the preseason. Andre, who fell to Cincinnati at No. 6, didn’t sign with the Bengals until after the third preseason game.
And then he immediately suffered a broken foot. He won’t be back until some point in the regular season. Nice.
“Andre suffered a small fracture in his left foot during a non-contact drill,” Bengals coach Marvin Lewis said in a statement. “Our medical staff tells me the injury will not require surgery. It’s too soon to closely predict how long it will be before he can return to practice, but it looks like he’s going to miss a few weeks.”
That is reassuring for long-suffering Bengal fans, who have seen one draft bust after another come through.
While sidelined, can Andre keep his weight down? To put it politely, his size tends to fluctuate.
Andre has a weight clause in his contract, reportedly set at 350 pounds. Smith’s conditioning became a bit of an issue for NFL teams before the draft.
He was a sloppy mess at the scouting combine . . . until he abruptly left the proceedings, presumably to get something more to eat.
This being the Cincinnati Bengals, Tipsheet expects this to end very badly for all parties involved.
Posted by Cincinnati and Dayton Sports Photographer Vincent Rush of Monroe, Ohio. For more information (877) 858-6295
The most telling prediction of how this will end...his apprentice agent turned to him at the signing and said, "Congratulations. You're a multi millionare!"
ReplyDeleteI believe it's fair to say, Andre Smith has already peaked and he hasn't played a down yet.
However, the way the NFL makes money hand over fist and then discards players the second they slip in production...Good for him!