Bengals look to extend Willie's contract

[B24]

Didn't see this posted here yet. This would be great to help keep the line intact if a deal can be reached.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2554792

[Kazkal]

Some talk about it week ago but looks like more of a push

[CPalmer9]

great news to hear that willie might be extended but this has to spell the end of the eric steinbach era...id rather have steinbach than willie

[skyline]

I'd rather have Eric, too, but I do think this shows players that they'll take care of you if you stay loyal to the team.

[ShulaSteakhouse]

A problem with re-signing Willie and trying to keep Steinbach, is that Willie, I would think, would get a shorter term contract worth a lot of immediate money with no real ability to spread the signing bonus and other incentive payments out. But on the other hand a back-loaded contract with Steinbach could counter that possibly.

They can't re-sign every starter, you will have to sacrifice somewhere, at some point, and Willie might be the best candidate, ecspecially when you have a young Whitworth and Andrews who could provide capable ability at RT next year.

I'd rather see them re-sign their best, youngest guard rather than over-pay for an aging and oft-injured, slowed RT that can be replaced. I guess if they sign a deal now, some of that money can be alloted to this year's cap as well? (to help out in the coming years)

You have to think they'll probably lose the significant salaries of Simmons and Smith after this year - so Steinbach is still a possibility. Tory is also a FA after this season also I believe.

[derekshank]

I know it is only a matter of time, and that Willie has a shorter shelf life than Steinbach... but I don't think that his play over the course of the next 2-3 years is really going to be the issue.

Also, from just the importance of their positions, spending the money on a proven RT is much more important than a LG. If you're going to have to spend the money to get a top notch guy, the tackle position is simply the more important of the two. Guards are getting paid huge amounts of money right now... so it makes more sense to replace Steiny with Whitworth for the next couple of years anyway.

The Bengals also aren't in the habit of back-loading contracts. They have never sacrificed the future for today. Teams like Tennessee and Baltimore have have often given these kinds of contracts, and Tennessee has paid for it with losing great veterans yearly. Baltimore will be experiencing the same thing starting next year or the year after. The Bengals don't practice this strategy.

You have a point with spreading the signing bonus over more years... but if I recall, the new CBA has limited the number of years you can do that anyway... so it's probably not as big of a deal as it seems.

Lastly... Willie is one of the few great leaders on this team. Any time you need a sound-byte of a guy being a leader on the field, you turn to Willie. You don't hear a peep out of Steinbach. Palmer is more reserved. Chad just likes to have fun. Willie is the vocal leader on this team. If you lose him, you are losing more than just his production on the field.

All of that to say... If I were to choose between the two... I'd take the younger, fresher guy, but there are still a lot of reasons to choose Willie over Steinbach too.

[ArmyBengal]

You can argue both sides of this debate and be correct... That being said, I think the move to keep the younger talent is the best direction to travel in and the top pick of the 2nd round is hard to let walk away. Willie is a leader and has proven himself time and time again, but this is still a business and could just as easily see him being the one to go. I hate to see either of them go and don't see good from either being let go.

WHODEY !!!

[derekshank]

I was thinking... what it might come down to is where the coaches feel they are at with the Stacy Andrews project. If they don't think he's starter material, you have to keep Steiny. Andrews would be a long-term back-up, and Whitworth goes to RT.

But, if they think Andrews is a couple years away from being a starting RT, then signing Willie would be the way to go. Willie's older, and would be with the team shorter than Steiny, giving Andrews a chance to win the position in a few years.

Whitworth will be a fine LG if they let STeiny go... and he's versatile. I know we don't want to let Steiny go because he's young and so versatile, but who's to say that Whitworth is less versatile. I'd bet that Whitworth is the better of the two when it comes to playing the tackle position. He certainly showed that he can hold his own as a LT in the pros against Buffalo.

Also, we can't forget that it is possible that Steiny is the one dragging his feet on this one. Marvin said from the beginning that they would keep whichever guys signed first. Loyalty goes both ways... and right now it looks like Willie wants to end his career in Cincy.

Once again... I'm not saying I'm in favor of signing Willie instead of Steiny. I'm just saying that when I read that ESPN ticker that says we've signed one of them, I'll be happy either way. The only thing I really don't want to have happen is to lose them both.

[ArmyBengal]

Loyalty does go a long way and maybe Steinbach sees the money flying and knows he won't get it from the Bengals !!!

WHODEY !!!

[Kazkal]

I want steinbach too but Willie is the biggest leader on our team and deserves to remain a bengal aslong as hes playing at a probowl level

If we don't keep steinbach can we use a trans tag and trade him like jets did?

[ChadJohnson-85]

I want steinbach too but Willie is the biggest leader on our team and deserves to remain a bengal aslong as hes playing at a probowl level

If we don't keep steinbach can we use a trans tag and trade him like jets did?

It would be better then seeing him as a free agent next year.

[DC_Bengals_Fan]

I was thinking... what it might come down to is where the coaches feel they are at with the Stacy Andrews project. If they don't think he's starter material, you have to keep Steiny. Andrews would be a long-term back-up, and Whitworth goes to RT.

But, if they think Andrews is a couple years away from being a starting RT, then signing Willie would be the way to go. Willie's older, and would be with the team shorter than Steiny, giving Andrews a chance to win the position in a few years.

Whitworth will be a fine LG if they let STeiny go... and he's versatile. I know we don't want to let Steiny go because he's young and so versatile, but who's to say that Whitworth is less versatile. I'd bet that Whitworth is the better of the two when it comes to playing the tackle position. He certainly showed that he can hold his own as a LT in the pros against Buffalo.

Also, we can't forget that it is possible that Steiny is the one dragging his feet on this one. Marvin said from the beginning that they would keep whichever guys signed first. Loyalty goes both ways... and right now it looks like Willie wants to end his career in Cincy.

Once again... I'm not saying I'm in favor of signing Willie instead of Steiny. I'm just saying that when I read that ESPN ticker that says we've signed one of them, I'll be happy either way. The only thing I really don't want to have happen is to lose them both.

Andrews *might* be starter material eventually, but he ain't pro-bowl material. Maybe I'm just being simple-minded, but if you have a borderline pro-bowler entering the 4th year of his career, you lock him up.

As pointed out, I might let Tory or Simmons go and keep Willie and Steinbach.

[sparky151]

I want steinbach too but Willie is the biggest leader on our team and deserves to remain a bengal aslong as hes playing at a probowl level

If we don't keep steinbach can we use a trans tag and trade him like jets did?

Probably not. The owners and the union are still hammering out the fine print in the CBA, but currently the transition tag is pretty useless. That's what Seattle used on Steve Hutchinson, thinking he would get offered a market deal somewhere that they would match. Vikings signed him to a poison pill deal that guaranteed his salary if he wasn't the highest paid linemen on the team in 2006. They knew Walter Jones would make more so the deal was basically not guaranteed if he went with the Vikes but guaranteed with the Seahawks. An arbitrator upheld the deal as valid.

[GregCook]

The Bengals have literally a ton of talent behind Willie, Steiny and Richie that is ready to play for millions less. The Bengals are up against the cap and do have defensive starters to extend next season that they won't be able to if they extend Willie and Eric. So its time for them to move on and reach far bigger deals elsewhere.

The salary cap was designed for just this contingency by the players and owners.

[HairOnFire]

I've got mixed feelings about this one. On one hand I'm pleased that the Bengals have opened talk with Anderson. On the other hand, I think it's abundantly clear that Steinbach was their higher priority target and a shift to Willie seems like hard to ignore proof that negotiations with Steiny didn't really progress much beyond rumors that things were "close-to-being-close". And despite the news that talks between the Bengals and Anderson have begun I think it's a solid guess that re-signing Anderson is going to be very difficult. He's always been a dollar first kinda guy, and I doubt that sentiment and a desire to end his career in Cincy will play a strong role in negotiations.

BTW, I see little reason to engage in any debate about which contract extension would be wiser since that point is moot. The only issue worth discussing is which player CAN be extended, assuming for a moment that BOTH players salary demands aren't considered unreasonable.

[Kirkendall]

If we can sign Willie, we sign him! This guy is a leader and mentor to the younger guys. I don't see why the Bengals can't sign both -- I'm neither a financial advisor nor a general manager. If the team wants to sign both, they'll be able to. I have no reason to believe the team will sacrifice their ability to keep the finances under control signing both. They have yet to make me think they couldn't do it in the Marvin Lewis era.

Anyway, I'm not so concerned about Steinbach. We got him in the second round and signed him for cheap. I also have no reason to believe the team couldn't do it again. And with Whitworth and Andrews trying out at guard, I think we'll be fine without Steinbach -- if he commands an outrageous deal.

[Kazkal]

my guess is rather signing deal makes him 5/6 highest payed guard he can't hit FA market and let some team like the redskins give him a insane deal

If we can sign Willie, we sign him! This guy is a leader and mentor to the younger guys. I don't see why the Bengals can't sign both -- I'm neither a financial advisor nor a general manager. If the team wants to sign both, they'll be able to. I have no reason to believe the team will sacrifice their ability to keep the finances under control signing both. They have yet to make me think they couldn't do it in the Marvin Lewis era.

Anyway, I'm not so concerned about Steinbach. We got him in the second round and signed him for cheap. I also have no reason to believe the team couldn't do it again. And with Whitworth and Andrews trying out at guard, I think we'll be fine without Steinbach -- if he commands an outrageous deal.

I don't see why the Bengals can't sign both --

Well for 1 thing kinda makes andrew whitworth a waste the other we need spend money on our defense too.

[ArmyBengal]

Just for the record, most thought Steinbach to be 1st round talent that most couldn't believe fell to us at the top of the second and i'm not as impressed as others with being able to plug in some of our depth and expect the same results.

He is probowl talent, period...

WHODEY !!!

[Kirkendall]

Well for 1 thing kinda makes andrew whitworth a waste the other we need spend money on our defense too.

No it doesn't. Using that theory, you could make the same claim for C. Perry. It just goes to show how talented this team is. And where do you specifically prepose to spend the money on defense? Seems to me Lewis has the defensive foundation set with young D-Line, young linebackers, and young corners. Safety? Not really. We could just draft there and we're set with the young foundation.

If we can sign both, we sign them. You don't just dump a pro-bowl tackle LAST SEASON because you drafted a guy in the second round.

Just for the record, most thought Steinbach to be 1st round talent that most couldn't believe fell to us at the top of the second and i'm not as impressed as others with being able to plug in some of our depth and expect the same results.

He is probowl talent, period...

WHODEY !!!

True. But if the debate is between Willie vs. Eric, which seems traditional, you have talent compared to three-year running consecutive pro-bowl tackle who's incredibly critical at making sure Carson doesn't have another apocalyptic injury.

[Stripes]

I want Steinbach, but his services might not prove as important to the team as having a strong presence at RT. Willie is certainly that, and perhaps the best such presence in the league... Even with his age. Steinbach will be pretty expensive given how the Vikings screwed the rest of the league with the Hutchinson signing. Either way, you're getting an effective player that will more than likely play at a near-Pro Bowl level. I doubt we'll end up with both of them, but that'd be absolutely wonderful for obvious reasons.

[HairOnFire]

I wonder which player would be more attractive to the Bengals in regards to the franchise tag?

[The_Next_Big_Thing]

Eric will get the franchise tag, Justin Smith will be gone, and there is a good chance Simmons gets the axe next season to make room for Steiny.

Now that being said, can you imagine lining Stacy the dancing bear next to Whitworth the goliath, with Wilkerson at center and Ghuicicacacaciac and Levi on the other?

[TippCityRick]

I look for Steinbach to be gone after this year and the Bengals to reach a three year deal with Willie. I believe Steinbach believes he can play left tackle in this league, a point I don't disagree with. And that is where the REAL money is. He won't get the chance here so he'll push to be on his way after the season.

The Bengals won't tag him because that would be financially crippling. They would essentially end up paying tackle money for a guard when they are deep on the line. I hate to lose Steinbach because I believe he'll be in Hawaii soon. But you can't keep everyone.

[HoosierCat]

Less here than meets the eye, if Willie's comments on bengals.com today are any indication. The front office may just be trying to squeeze Steiney a bit by apppearing to switch targets. But like Hair said, Big Willie has never made any secret of the fact he considers himself worth Big Bucks, and he would likely end up being at least as expensive Steiney's reported demands.

If anything, I suspect the Bengals were simply ascertaining where Willie was at. They now know his price tag; they already know Eric's. I expect talks on both fronts to quiet down now until sometime in December. One of them will end up getting paid then, but there's no screaming need to do it now. The only downside is that if it *is* Willie who gets paid, then they either pay a franchise price to keep Eric, or lose a top-tier O-lineman with nothing in return. Which would suck hard.