No one will be blown away by the moves the Bengals made today.
However, you sure can’t complain.
The Bengals re-signed one of their more consistent players and confirmed a deal with the team’s best linebacker last season. (Sorry - it isn’t Landon Johnson)
The Bengals and punter Kyle Larson (left) have agreed to a five-year deal.
Larson will continue his consistent career as a Cincinnati Bengal. His career began in 2004 and has never missed a game. In his career, Larson has a 42.8 per-punt average and has 81 punts (out of 279) that he pinned the other team back inside the 20.
In his four-year career with Cincinnati, Larson has not averaged less than 41.3 yards per punt in any of the seasons.
The club also confirmed linebacker Dhani Jones’ three-year deal.
Jones signed with the Bengals after the Cleveland Browns game in week two of last season. Remember the game that brought every Bengal fan back down to earth?
Jones saw some playing time the week he signed and played admirable in the Seattle game in week three. He went on to finish the season with 90 total tackles and had two fumble recoveries. More importantly, Jones became a defensive captain shortly after joining the team.
Other topics:
I will also discuss what people are saying in Cincinnati, Nashville and in Tuscaloosa about the signing of Antwan Odom.
Also, what is going on in the Robertson trade? I will breakdown what people are thinking in New York and in Cincinnati?
Feel free to comment.
A new post containing those topics will be coming soon.
Around 8:00 a.m. eastern standard time, Cincinnati Bengal fans got excited that their favorite NFL franchise was about to get a new starting defensive tackle.
Almost 12 hours later, some sources are saying that there won’t be a trade between the Cincinnati Bengals and the New York Jets.
While the chances for one defensive lineman to join the Bengals dries up, another defensive lineman joins the team.
According to the team’s Web Site, Antwan Odom’s agent confirmed that his client has agreed to a five-year deal with the Cincinnati Bengals.
The deal “borders on $30 million with more than $11 million guaranteed”, according to Bengals.com.
Personally, I like the deal.
Signing Odom (right) for a good amount less than the 49ers used (six years at $45 million) on Justin Smith seems like a smart move.
I believe having another athletic defensive end to pair up with Robert Geathers should work out a lot better than having Smith.
Smith was a solid player, but there were too many times where Smith would be running away from line instead of attacking it.
For that reason, he was able to make tackles down the field. Smith’s ability to make downfield tackles has always been labeled his strength, but I have always thought of it as his weakness (attacked the line more his rookie season and started to do it less and less as his career went on).
Hopefully, Odom can make some plays behind the line of scrimmage instead of five or six yards past it.
Last season, Odom, who is only 26 years old, was a regular starter for the first time in his career as a Tennessee Titan. He finished the year with eight sacks, which would have led the Bengals by far.
In Tennessee, he had the benefit of being on the other side as Kyle Vanden Bosch and on the same line as Albert Haynesworth.
If the Bengals can trade/sign Robertson, it will only help Geathers and Odom.
Even though most people are shying away from commenting on the Robertson deal, I have a feeling that it could still happen.
If the Bengals have enough spending money after the Odom deal than I believe they will acquire Robertson.
The Jets have to get rid of Robertson after acquiring Kris Jenkins, Alan Faneca, Damien Woody and Calvin Pace to huge contracts.
To make the deal go through, Cincinnati needs to redo Robertson’s contract. It would be disappointing if that would cause the team to miss out on a quality defensive tackle.
However, the team could cut off all ties with the Jets if they sign safety Marlon McCree, who I heard was close to a deal with the Bengals.
Maybe the Bengals weren’t supposed to land fatty Shaun Rogers.
Maybe former University of Kentucky defensive tackle Dewayne Robertson (left) is the better option.
According to ESPN.com the Bengals have agreed to a trade for Robertson with the New York Jets.
According to the report, the Bengals receive Robertson in exchange for fourth- and fifth-round picks in the upcoming draft.
Also according to the source, the “completion of the trade upon Robertson agreeing to a new contract — he had two years remaining on his rookie deal with New York — and passing a physical, though neither is expected to hold up the deal, which could be finalized as early as Monday.”
Bengals.com is reporting that Robertson’s agent called ESPN.com’s report “premature.”
It is common thought among Jets’ fans and the front office is that Robertson is better suited as a penetrating-style tackle in a 4-3 defensive scheme and isn’t right for the Jets’ 3-4 defense.
New York head coach Eric Mangini installed the 3-4 scheme in ‘06 and the team wanted a bigger body defensive tackle ever since.
Enter three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kris Jenkins, who the Jets traded for this free agency. In the deal , New York gave up third- and fifth-round picks in the upcoming NFL Draft to the Carolina Panthers.
According to Jenkins’ agent, the Bengals were among the three other teams that showed interest in acquiring the defensive tackle.
Back in the 2003 NFL Draft, Robertson was the fourth overall pick. In five seasons, he has been healthy and has recorded 14.5 sacks. More importantly, his best game last season came against the hated Pittsburgh Steelers. Robertson picked up 2.5 sacks in a 19-16 overtime win.
If you want to know what kind of car Robertson will be driving around the Nati, check out the video below.
Other News: Defensive end Antwan Odom was in Cincinnati on Sunday, but still plans to visit the Arizona Cardinals on Tuesday. The Vikings really wanted Justin Smith, so it is possible that Odom will visit Minnesota.
The Bengals also hosted safety Marlon McCree this weekend. Many remember McCree’s hit on T.J. Houshmandzadeh in Cincinnati’s depressing 41-49 loss to San Diego in 2006. The hit (below) was dirty and it awarded the Bengals with a 15-yard penalty. McCree is another NFL veteran originally from the University of Kentucky. Many fans are expecting that fellow safety Dexter Jackson will be released if McCree is signed. McCree had other planned visits this weekend with the Carolina Panthers and the Miami Dolphins.
Cincinnati Enquirer Bengals beat writer Mark Curnutte reported this weekend that the team is interested in Indianapolis Colts tight end Ben Utecht. However, no one knows of any date that the TE would visit on. My question is why didn’t the Bengals go after Alge Crumpler, who recently agreed to a two-year deal with the Tennessee Titans? The team could still go after Jeremy Shockey, but his price tag could be too high.
Also this weekend, the New Orleans Saints terminated linebacker Brian Simmons’ contract. The former Bengal would fit in nicely in Cincinnati. He played in all 16 games and started three of them for the Saints last season.
Shaun Rogers has just gone from Santa Claus to Fat Bastard.
According to the Detroit Free Press Shaun Rogers has actually been traded to the Cleveland Browns.
According to the source, the Lions had confirmed the previous deal (Cincinnati sends a third and a fifth for Rogers) with the Bengals, but Cincinnati failed to confirm it.
The trade didn’t go through and the Brownies sent cornerback Leigh “Ocho Cinco Stopper” Bodden and a third-round pick to the Lions.
No one seems clear on how the deal unraveled, according to Cincinnati Enquirer bengals beat writer Mark Curnutte “Theories ranged late tonight (last night) from the league stepping in because the trade violated a salary-cap rule to one that the trade was never reported to the NFL office, leaving the Lions free to negotiate another deal with another team. Another explanation was faulty language in the trade forced the NFL to void it.”
However, it seems to me that it was as simple as Detroit receiving a better offer once the trade to Cincinnati was announced. Hopefully we will find out more about what really happened because something stinks!
Rogers will now join Corey Williams, who was also acquired this offseason, on the Cleveland defensive line.
As expected Justin Smith has agreed to sign with the San Francisco 49ers.
According to ESPN.com’s Michael Smith, who misspelled Francisco as “Franciso”, the 49ers and Smith agreed to a six-year deal worth $45 million.
Personally, I wasn’t upset the Bengals let Smith and Williams sign outrageous contracts with other teams.
One of the reasons that I wasn’t upset was because of the Rogers’ trade.
However, on the bright side, Rogers has had his share of problems.
I know that might be nitpicking, but the guy is a freakin’ Brownie, so we have to hate the fat bastard.
Rumor: I heard that the Bengals are getting closer to re-signing Landon Johnson. Defensive end Antwan Odom is scheduled to visit the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday. It will be Odom’s first visit during the free-agency period. Supposedly the Tennessee Titans were trying to re-sign the player leading up to Thursday’s dealdine, but the two sides couldn’t agree on a long-term deal.
The Bengals and punter Kyle Larson (left) have agreed to a five-year deal.
According to the team’s Web Site, Antwan Odom’s agent confirmed that his client has agreed to a five-year deal with the Cincinnati Bengals.
Maybe former University of Kentucky defensive tackle Dewayne Robertson (left) is the better option.
The hit (below) was dirty and it awarded the Bengals with a 15-yard penalty. McCree is another NFL veteran originally from the University of Kentucky. Many fans are expecting that fellow safety Dexter Jackson will be released if McCree is signed. McCree had other planned visits this weekend with the Carolina Panthers and the Miami Dolphins.
According to the 