Reacting to a tweet from Newsday that said the Bengals are preparing to cut Antonio Bryant, Lamont Smith said he has not heard from the club and he thinks he would so they could reach an injury settlement before releasing his client. ?That would be the protocol,? Smith said. ?Because you would think they would call and say, ?This isn?t going the way we thought and let?s try and do something.? From what I understand, things have progressed the past week.? If the Bengals are planning to cut him, Bryant doesn?t know it, either, because a couple of hours before the tweet he talked to the Cincinnati media Thursday and said he?s encouraged by the progress of the knee he originally injured in Tampa last preseason and says he?s ?really close.?