Irv Smith on Bengals Offense Since Joe Burrow Returned: 'We Haven't Missed a Beat'

CINCINNATI — New Bengals tight end Irv Smith Jr. is preparing for his first game with the team this Sunday and AllBengals' James Rapien caught up with the former Viking to see how he's feeling.

Smith isn't worried about the missed time with Joe Burrow as he declared that this year is the healthiest he's felt himself coming off an NFL training camp.

"We haven't missed a beat," Smith said about the Burrow-led offense. "I feel like as an offense Joe came in and automatically set the command. He's been very active throughout his time out. Now with him being back out there, you could definitely see a difference. He's just a great leader out there, just picking the defense apart and as a the tight end, just trying to be as available as possible and help my team in all aspects, and with nine back there, it gives us a lot of confidence."

Smith is excited to get utilized as a key weapon in Zac Taylor's offense as Hayden Hurst and C.J. Uzomah have been across the past two seasons.

"How he implements everybody in the offense and gets his playmakers involved and creates different mismatches," Smith said about Taylor. "It's been great having a coach like Coach (James) Casey. I can lean on him with any questions and just fine-tune the details. It's been real good, just this offense. It's gonna be very explosive. We have a lot of weapons, and all the coaches they do a great job of putting us in the right places and us doing our job and going out there and competing."

The fifth-year player has played in just 21 games since the start of the 2020 season as he looks to stay healthy and productive in 2023.

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