Recently, Cincinnati Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis addressed some key offseason issues in an interview with Bengals.com.
The two sides discussed throwing the ball downfield more in 2010, the Shayne Graham situation, the signing of Matt Jones, the progress of Jerome Simpson and the future of Laveranues Coles in Cincinnati.
The two didn’t discuss the current state of the NFL owners and the NFLPA. Granted, Lewis is the head coach which means his answers may not be that relevant, but let me remind you we live in a city where the owner wouldn’t discuss any subject with the press. So, typically, the press will ask Lewis these types of questions. Bengals.com writer Geoff Hobson did ask however, front-office type of questions on Graham, Coles, Roy Williams, Tank Johnson, Jeremi Johnson and on adding another veteran wide receiver.
None of those questions produced any quality answers. The most interesting response from the coach could be his support of Coles, who he said “was productive,” “made big catches,” “blocked great,” “great leader,” “was a role model” and “a great friend for Chad (Ochocinco).” That type of support makes you wonder if Lewis is going to make a strong push to keep Coles.
Lewis also heavily supported 2009 draft pick tight end Chase Coffman, which could deeply impact the Bengals decision to draft a tight end early in 2010 NFL Draft. If you were wondering, many mock drafts currently have the Bengals selecting Oklahoma tight end Jermaine Gresham with its first-round pick (No. 21 overall).
It was also interesting to read what Lewis had to say about Jones. While he appeared to avoid taking about Matt Jones’ workout, which was reported by Yahoo Sports of being ‘one of the worst workouts’ its source had ever seen, Lewis appeared to love the new attitude of Jones. He called him a “totally different guy. Shockingly different. The transformation is big (from when he was at the NFL Combine in 2005).”
When Lewis discussed Simpson and Graham it appeared that he wasn’t as excited about those two players. It appeared that this could Simpson’s last chance to make an impact in Cincinnati and that Graham is ready to move on. He also ruled out the Bengals using their franchise tag on Graham.
Meanwhile if you were wondering, if the NFL owners and the NFLPA don’t reach an agreement before March 5 then 2010 will be an uncapped year. It appears NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell will do everything possible to make sure there will be an agreement by this time next year, which could mean many one-year deals this offseason.
During this uncapped offseason, as Cincinnati fans, we fear that the major-market teams will outbid the Bengals for potential free agents. However NFL GMs will need to be careful not to put their teams in a bad financial situation for next season, especially since there could be a cap again 2011.
It could also be a good time for teams to cut highly-drafted players that haven’t panned out. For example, Vernon Gholston of the New York Jets, who was the No. 6 pick in 2008. The Jets could cut Gholston without suffering a cap hit. If the Jets were to wait a year to cut Gholston it would have less money available to fill his spot. This also figures to hurt Jerome Simpson, but I figure this type of move is more likely to occur with the big-market teams that could use this year to save money against a future cap.
