Dungy: Utecht will be good

PALM BEACH, Fla. -- Colts head coach Tony Dungy had nothing but good things to say about his former backup tight end, Ben Utecht, now with the Bengals.

"He’s going to be a really, really good player for Cincinnati," Dungy said this afternoon as the NFL annual meeting ended. "He’s an extremely smart guy. He can catch the ball, he runs routes. He had to be the blocking tight end for us, so that part of his game really improved over three years because he was thrust into it. He’s a leader. He’s a hard worker. We hated to lose him. I’m sure he’s going to help them.

"He’s looking forward to playing with Carson (Palmer) and probably get in the same type of deal that Dallas (Clark) had, where you had two great outside receivers and he’s going to be the guy that works the middle of the field. I know he’s really looking forward to it.

"I don’t know if they've ever had (a stretch-the-field tight end), maybe since (Rodney) Holman and Dan Ross. Those guys that get down the middle and make big plays as a tight end. He can do that. He can run and he s a big target. He can run and he can run after the catch. He’s going to help them offensively."