The Bengals have signed center T.J. Johnson, a seventh-round pick from South Carolina, Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun reported Wednesday.
Johnson (6-4, 310) started all 53 games in his collegiate career, playing right guard as a freshman in 2009 and moving to center for the next three seasons. He bench-pressed 225 pounds 32 times at the NFL Scouting Combine in February.
The Bengals’ center depth was put to the test last season with starter Kyle Cook missing most of the campaign with an ankle injury. Cook and Trevor Robinson will compete for the starting center job in 2013, Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said at the Combine, per the Cincinnati Enquirer and other media outlets.