The Bengals and wide receiver /kick returner Brandon Tate have come to terms on a one-year contract, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported Saturday.
The move appears to be the latest in a series the Bengals have made to keep the core of their special teams together. The Bengals have re-signed punter Kevin Huber and placekicker Mike Nugent and have agreed to bring back cornerback /punt returner Adam Jones.
The 25-year-old Tate returned 32 kickoffs for 795 yards (24.8 yards per return) in 2012. He appeared in all 16 games and made three starts at wideout, catching 13 passes for 211 yards and one touchdown.
Tate was a third-round pick of the Patriots in 2009 (No. 83). He has played the last two seasons with the Bengals, joining Cincinnati not long before the 2011 regular-season opener.
The Bengals have largely focused on bringing back their own players in 2013, and as a general rule, they have primarily taken a build-from-within approach in constructing their roster. That said, the Bengals have had a nice eye for adding talented players who didn’t quite work out elsewhere, and Tate has been a solid contributor for them.