Update: 6:50 p.m.
Andy Dalton said last week he's confident he'll get a deal with the Bengals and he still is this week in the wake of Colin Kaepernick's seven-year extension that can best be interpreted at about $18 million per year:
"I'm hopeful something will get done. It's just a matter of time."
Dalton doesn't seem fazed by the premise of the deal, which is structured by incentives.
"You have to have confidence in yourself to be able to do things," said Dalton Tuesday before the Bengals' first mandatory minicamp practice. "I think he's confident enough he'll be able to play out the whole contract and he's going to be able to earn everything. For me, I feel the same way. I feel like I'm confident in what I'm able to do…But you can't even talk about (structure) right now."
Dalton says he understands another part of the Kaepernick deal. There has to be enough left.
"Obviously, you want to do what's best for you and your family, but you also want to get guys around you," Dalton said. "Yeah, they're trying to get something done with me. But there's also A.J. (Green), there's a bunch of other guys in the next group that are going to get stuff. Just finding that ground that is good for everybody."
SMITH EXPECTED: With tight end Jermaine Gresham not participating this spring with an unknown ailment, the Bengals moved to bolster the tight end spot when they were expected to re-sign 10-year veteran Alex Smith before Tuesday's practice. Smith took 247 snaps last year in his first season with the Bengals before his year ended with a dislocated wrist in the regular-season finale. The 6-4, 250-pound Smith, who rehabbed with the Bengals the past month, is a solid blocker that covers them in the blocking end of it until Gresham comes back.
POLLAK FLEXIBLE: Mike Pollak said he hasn't really been told if he's going to be at center or guard and he says that's fine because he'll be ready to do both. But he won't do it until training camp as he rests a knee that flared up during offseason training. He says he's watched rookie center Russell Bodine and says he's been impressed by his poise and ability to pick up the offense.
He's also impressed the coaches and they installed him as the starter Tuesday, but offensive coordinator Hue Jackson wants more.
"He's going to have to snap the ball better," Jackson said after practice.
VET TAKE: Much has been made of rookies running up big dinner tabs for veterans and it's coming under attack as a form of hazing. Left tackle Andrew Whitworth, the Bengals' rep to the NFL Players Association, says to slow down.
"One night out of 365 where you're taking a kid out to dinner and saying, 'Hey, you need to buy us a nice dinner because we're basically out here teaching you things that are going to help you become a millionaire,'" Whitworth said. "It's getting a little silly.
"There is such a thing as being disrespectful and trying to spend his money on purpose," Whitworth said. "It's a veteran's job to keep it to where it's reasonable and keep it where it's not excessive and not forced. It should be a way to say, 'Thank you.'"
SLANTS AND SCREENS:
Mike Nugent and Quinn Sharp began their kicking competition perfectly Tuesday. It looked like they each hit all of their four attempts from 40, 45, 50 and 51 yards...
To catch punts special teams coordinator Darrin Simmons sent back incumbent Brandon Tate, wide receiver Marvin Jones, and cornerback Adam Jones in that order. Also back there were wide receivers Jasper Collins, a first-year player just claimed from Piittsburgh, and Colin Lockett, a rookie free agent from San Diego State. Just before the drill ended, head coach Marvin Lewis called over rookie free-agent running back Jeff Scott to catch one after he worked on other aspects of punt cover and return...
According to profootballtalk.com, the agent for South Carolina cornerback Victor Hampton said Tuesday his client signed with the Bengals, which means somebody is going to be gone when they practice Wednesday. The 5-9 Hampton had been projected as a mid-round pick, but PFT theorizes two brushes with the law in April contributed to Hampton going undrafted. Police wanted to talk to him after an altercation in a New York City nightclub and he was reportedly arrested following an incident with his sister, according to PFT.
