Alvin Keels, the agent for rookie offensive tackle Andre Smith, twittered his meeting with the Bengals today regarding the contract of his player. Not good news.

Leaving Cinci. Not any closer on a deal for Andre Smith. Mike Brown says “the ship has sailed on the slotting system”.

With the current tackle not looking up to speed, bringing Smith into camp is a necessity. But these are the Bengals, where stupidity and money is ranked way ahead of winning.

The slotting system is the unofficial guide to signing picks, judging contracts by what the picks surrounding them sign for. The Bengals have offered Smith a contract way below market value and what the slotting system suggests.

Would love to know the “reasoning” (not that Mike Brown has ever needed that) for blowing off what seems to be a demand for a reasonable contract, but it won’t happen. Can’t wait to see Katie Blackburn running her mouth about this on Hard Knocks next week.