March 15 (UPI) -- Former Cincinnati Bengals tight end Hayden Hurst agreed to sign with the Carolina Panthers, a league source told UPI on Wednesday morning.
NFL contracts with free agents can't become official until 4 p.m. EDT Wednesday, the start of the new league year.
Hurst totaled 414 yards and two scores on 52 catches in a career-high 13 starts last season for the Bengals. The five-year veteran entered the league as the No. 25 overall pick by the Baltimore Ravens in the 2018 NFL Draft.
The Ravens traded Hurst to the Atlanta Falcons in 2020. Hurst went on to catch a career-high 56 passes for 571 yards and six scores the following season. The 6-foot-4, 260-pound pass catcher totaled 177 catches for 1,718 yards and 14 scores through his first 70 NFL appearances.
He will join a Panthers pass-catching group, which also includes wide receivers Terrace Marshall Jr., Shi Smith and Laviska Shenault.
Devin Asiasi, Tanner Hudson and Nick Bowers are the only tight ends under contract with the Bengals.
