Who Should I Start? Drew Sample or Irv Smith Jr.

Sunday, January 5, 7:40 AM

Cincinnati Bengals tight end Drew Sample caught all four of his targets for 14 yards on Saturday in his team's 19-17 victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Though the yardage total wasn't anything to write home about, the veteran tight end tied a season high in catches. More importantly, Cincinnati's offense did just enough to earn a fifth straight victory that kept its playoff hopes alive for another day. Whether Sample and the Bengals get a shot in the Wild Card round will come down to Week 18, when Cincy needs both Denver and Miami to lose.

Tuesday, September 17, 10:22 PM

The Houston Texans signed free-agent tight end Irv Smith and former starting center Scott Quessenberry to their practice squad on Tuesday following successful tryouts, according to league sources. Smith, a former second-round pick by the Minnesota Vikings out of Alabama, will give Houston more depth at the TE position behind Dalton Schultz, Brevin Jordan and rookie Cade Stover. He has 109 career receptions for 973 yards and 10 touchdowns in his career with the Vikings, Bengals and Chiefs, but injuries have really held him back from reaching his true ceiling. Texans center Juice Scruggs (groin), who missed the Week 2 win over the Bears on Sunday night, is on track to return this week against the Vikings, but Quessenberry will give the team more depth at the position. Quessenberry started for Houston two seasons ago when Justin Britt stepped away for personal reasons.