The Cincinnati Bengals' run has come to an end, as they were knocked off by the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game in heartbreaking fashion. Here are five players who likely won't be back in 2023.
All contract information courtesy of Spotrac
5. Drew Sample
Fans only saw Drew Sample suit up for two games in 2022 before he was sidelined with an injury that took him out for the rest of the year. Even before the injury, Sample probably wasn't going to be brought back in 2023 anyway but now it feels even less likely that he'll be back.
Drafted in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft, Sample was a surprising pick at the time considering his college stats weren't anything to write home about. He had a nice season in 2020 when C.J. Uzomah went down but otherwise, Sample has been the definition of a blocking tight end.
Mitchell Wilcox is also hitting free agency and should be more affordable, so it'd probably be him that'd be back to serve as the backup tight end over Sample, especially since he's held his own while Sample was out this season.