The Bengals and right tackle Andre Smith haven’t been able to reach agreement on a deal that will keep Smith in Cincinnati, but the team has been able to land a different free agent offensive lineman.
Tony Pauline of DraftInsider.net reports that the Bengals have signed guard/center Mike Pollak to a contract for the 2013 season. Pollak played just one game with the Panthers in 2012 because of a shoulder injury, but he was a regular starter during his first four years in the NFL.
Pollak played for the Colts in all of those years and started 41 games at guard after the team made him a second-round pick in 2008. Pollak is likely ticketed to a reserve role thanks to his injury and the Bengals’ holdovers at both guard and center, but his experience makes him a nice insurance policy for Cincinnati to have all the same.
The Bengals have spent most of the offseason signing their own free agents, leaving Pollak to join quarterback Josh Johnson and linebacker Aaron Maybin as the rare veteran addition to the roster.