Kattus was selected in the fourth round of the
1986 NFL draft by his hometown Cincinnati Bengals with the 91st pick overall. He played for the Bengals for the first six years of his NFL career from
1986 to
1991. During that time he had modest success with his best season being
1987 when he totaled 217 receiving yards on 18 receptions with two touchdowns. He also played on special teams and fielded an occasional squib kickoff return. In his six years with the Bengals, they won two
American Football Conference Central Division championships (
1988 &
1990). In 1988, they won the conference championship but lost to the
San Francisco 49ers in
Super Bowl XXIII. However, Kattus was not on the
Super Bowl game day roster. The Bengals also had winning season in his rookie year of 1986, going 10-6 but missing the playoffs. The Bengals did not have winning records in any of his other seasons with the team. Kattus spent his entire Bengals career in the shadow of fellow tight end
Rodney Holman who played for the Bengals from
1982 to
1992 and went to the
Pro Bowl three consecutive years from
1988 to
1990. The only season during Kattus' Bengals tenure that Holman did not play all 16 regular season games was in 1987 - the season Kattus had his best year. The Bengals played five playoff games during Kattus' years in Cincinnati, but Kattus only caught a pass in one. In fact, he caught two passes for nineteen yards and a touchdown in the first-round Wild Card game of the
1990-91 NFL playoffs against the
Houston Oilers. He caught no passes as a member of
Bruce Coslet's last place
1992 New York Jets - his final season. Kattus had signed with the Jets after regular tight end
Johnny Mitchell was placed on injured reserve. Coslet had been the Bengals'
offensive coordinator and as a result of the similarities in offensive schemes, Kattus was familiar with the Jets' offensive scheme. However, Kattus was cut when both Mitchell and
Siupeli Malamala were reactivated four weeks later. ==See also==