Reggie Kelly's Value Went Beyond Numbers For Bengals

Reggie Kelly is one of those players that flies under the radar. He doesn't propose to cheerleaders after scoring a touchdown. He doesn't demand trades in the media. All the veteran Cincinnati Bengal tight end does is show up for work everyday, provide leadership in the locker room, and do whatever his team needs to win.

On Monday, Kelly blew out his Achilles' tendon on just the second day of training camp. The injury ends Kelly's season before it ever began and could possibly end his career.

"I'm just sick to my stomach," said Bengals quarterback Carson Palmer after learning of the injury.

Kelly was not a staple on the highlight films. He rarely caught more than 20 passes in a season and Palmer virtually never looked his way on crucial third downs. But Kelly's value went beyond mere numbers and his loss could have an adverse effect on the Bengals' 2009 season.

Rex Ryan, the former defensive coordinator of the Baltimore Ravens and current head coach of the New York Jets, once called Kelly the Bengals' "secret weapon." For Ryan, the reason was simple. When Kelly was on the field, the Bengals virtually had three offensive tackles.

He may have been a tight end in name, but Kelly's ability to block was known league-wide. Kelly was such a weapon as a blocker that the Bengals often moved him all over the field in an effort to negate opposing blitzers. Linemen, linebackers, defensive backs, it didn't matter—Kelly could handle them all.

"Reggie was used in situations when we brought him into the backfield as a back to protect on third down when we knew people were going to use matchups," said Bengals offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski. "Like some of the things Baltimore did with (Terrell) Suggs matched on a back or Pittsburgh with some of the outside backers. We've got to find somebody else."

Kelly was going to be doubly important with the youth that the Bengals were going to have on the offensive line. First-round pick Andre Smith, who has yet to sign, is penciled in as the starter at right tackle. If he is not ready, second-year player Anthony Collins will start in his place. Either way, the youngsters were going to benefit from Kelly's presence.

The Bengals do have plenty of options at tight end. Ben Utecht was the team's big free agent signing from the Colts a year ago and third-rounder Chase Coffman is the NCAA's all-time leader in receiving yards at the tight end position.

But both players are known more as pass catchers than pass blockers and will need to step up their games if they are to even approach Kelly's value on the field. Daniel Coats is also an option, but the Bengals have used him more as a fullback than a tight end in recent seasons.

The Bengals indicated late Monday that they would probably not pursue a free agent to replace Kelly, although they did not rule out scouring the waiver wire on cutdown day. Either way, the team will need to find a way to replace Kelly's value as a blocker.

"We lost a very good player, a true professional and a real gentleman," Bratkowski said. "(Head coach) Marvin (Lewis) had talked to the team that first night of training camp that good teams do overcome adversity and he said, 'I don't know what that adversity is going to be down the road.' Well, we just faced our first step in adversity and everyone has to pick it up."