The Indianapolis Colts, by all appearances, have opted not to match the offer made by the Cincinnati Bengals to tight end Ben Utecht.

Utecht was an undrafted free agent in 2005, and the Colts extended to him the low-level tender, which preserved for the team the right to match any offer made, but no right of compensation.

The Colts had seven days to decide whether to meet the deal that Utecht signed with the Bengals.  Instead of making their plans known, the Colts merely allowed the time period to pass without comment. 

And so Utecht will receive $9 million over three years with the Bengals.

“He is really excited to join the team and make contributions to help make the Bengals a Super Bowl contender,” Utecht’s agent, Chris Murray, told Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com.