3 former Bengals free agents who could be brought back in 2023

2. Tyler Kroft

A former third-round pick out of Rutgers, Kroft spent the first four years of his career with the Bengals before moving on to Buffalo, New York, and most recently, San Francisco. Kroft appeared in 11 games for the 49ers this past season and had just four catches for 57 yards.

The thing to consider here, however, is that the 49ers already have a pretty great starting tight end named George Kittle so it makes sense that Kroft wouldn't be a star there. He appeared in 33% of offensive snaps and 31% of special teams snaps.

The good with Kroft is that he's a solid blocker. The bad is that he's been injury-prone throughout his career, which is likely why the Bengals parted was with him back in 2019. With this in mind, Kroft isn't going to be a major pass-catching threat if he was brought in.

Hayden Hurst is a free agent as well and if he leaves, the Bengals will need a new option. Perhaps signing Kroft and re-signing Drew Sample could suffice, as both are solid blockers who could step in and catch passes if called upon. They wouldn't be the same kind of weapons that Hurst and C.J. Uzomah were but this offense doesn't really need them to be.