Joseph signs with Houston

[volcom69]

Per a commenter on CJ, details begin to emerge, and it ain't pretty (I'll see if I can find a link):

Joseph gets 5 years, $48.75 million and $23.5 guaranteed, including $12.5 signing bonus.

Not even 10 bills a year and he's gone.

I guessing he wanted to leave then???

Im hoping they go after Carlos Rodgers, then need somebody bad, and i think he could be decent here next to Hall

[HoosierCat]

I guessing he wanted to leave then???

Either that or those Lumina parts are really racking up the big bucks on ebay. Time will tell.

[membengal]

So I guess I have to be the one that mentions he was always kinda fragile and probably not worth the coin? They drop back to a carlos rogers type, and I don't know that the loss is all that. Then again, I have always thought him over-rated. If this was Leon hall I would be pissed.

[HairOnFire]

What's the cornerback version of Bruce Gradkowski?

I'll take two.

[HoosierCat]

If this was Leon hall I would be pissed.

Hall's not going to be any cheaper next year. And if he gets into FA in March he'll have just as many suitors.

Someone around here (derek maybe but I'm not positive) ripped me a while back for dreaming up fantasy scenarios in which we lose JJ this year and Leon in 2012. All I can say is: wait for it.

If the Bengals are smart they will throw everything they have at Hall before the end of the year. If he isn't inked by December 31, mark my words: he is gone, 100%, bet he farm, take it to the bank.

[ArmyBengal]

You can't preach "Build through the draft" and then do nothing to put a winning product on the field and think those first round talent guys are going to want to stick with the same losing product.

[ShulaSteakhouse]

So I guess I have to be the one that mentions he was always kinda fragile and probably not worth the coin? They drop back to a carlos rogers type, and I don't know that the loss is all that. Then again, I have always thought him over-rated. If this was Leon hall I would be pissed.

JJoe is a superior cover CB to Hall hands down, but yes gets knicked-up too often, and is always coming out of games or missing practice.

If he can play 13-16 games for the Texans he's a great pick-up, and the Bengals' will miss him.

I don't care for Hall's cover abilities, he was terrible last year and cost us the playoffs on the Holmes catch a few years ago among other things. He should be on the weak side IMO, but, there's no one better here.

[jjakq27]

What's the cornerback version of Bruce Gradkowski?

I'll take two.

Here are the locals on the roster prior to the resumption of play this week.

On the roster: CB Leon Hall, CB Adam Jones, S Chris Crocker, S Reggie Nelson, CB Brandon Ghee, CB Morgan Trent, CB Rico Murray, S Tom Nelson (Exclusive Rights, Tendered), CB Jonathan Wade, CB Fred Bennett, CB David Pender, S Jeromy Miles

Drafted: S Robert Sands (5th round), CB Korey Lindsey (7th round)

Unrestricted free agents: CB Johnathan Joseph, S Roy Williams, S Marvin White, CB Keiwan Ratliff, S Gibril Wilson, S Chinedum Ndukwe.

So are they hanging their hope on Brandon Ghee? Did they misstep by not tagging Joseph?

I suspect that they made a modest offer but may have never been interested in paying him big money in light of his injury history and the expected overpayment in this new era.

[HoosierCat]

There's some chatter that they've pulled a Lavernaeus Coles and thrown money at Antonio Cromartie until he signed. Dunno if it's true or not. Would be a step down but it's something.

Edit: nope, just some BS on twitter.

[Stripes]

Cromartie mostly sucks, but I guess he might produce some turnovers.

[volcom69]

There's some chatter that they've pulled a Lavernaeus Coles and thrown money at Antonio Cromartie until he signed. Dunno if it's true or not. Would be a step down but it's something.

Edit: nope, just some BS on twitter.

I still would imagine that they have some kind of backup plan in place, they cant just let a guy like Jjoe walk and not have a plan. I would rather have Carlos Rodgers or somebody like that, but Cromartie would work too. Zim and Coyle are great coaches, and i think whoever they pick up will turn out to be pretty good.

Im just hoping that they are pursing some D-lineman also, now this team needs even more of a pass rush!

[ArmyBengal]

What do I expect ??

Richard Marshall

[COB]

I totally expected this. J. Joe was just completely quiet in the buildup to free agency, I think this is the main hallmark of someone who got drafted by the Bengals, but figured he'd serve his time then leave.

I think Hall will follow suit and go to a new team after this season.

Mike needs to look in the mirror, evaluate why the reputation of this team is so stodgy, then consider promoting Pumpkin. She's at least 50 already, give her a shot while she still gives a crap.

Mike seems determined to pull a Joe Paterno and just refuse to ever leave even after he barely knows what's going on.

[skyline]

It's disappointing, but in the back of my head this whole time I was wondering how they were going to afford both Joseph AND Hall when the time came. Seems like it has to be one or the other since you can't really afford to pay two corners that much money. So, I guess I'll wait to see if Hall leaves as well before I really get upset.

[johnswahoo]

Per a commenter on CJ, details begin to emerge, and it ain't pretty (I'll see if I can find a link):

Joseph gets 5 years, $48.75 million and $23.5 guaranteed, including $12.5 signing bonus.

Not even 10 bills a year and he's gone.

I guessing he wanted to leave then???

Im hoping they go after Carlos Rodgers, then need somebody bad, and i think he could be decent here next to Hall

Who really want's to be here, unless you don't have any other options, most other players wouldn't want to be here either.

[volcom69]

My guess is Hall is going to get the big money, and they will pay somebody decent money to play beside Hall. I really do think they tried to keep Joseph, but i bet they would rather keep Hall, he less injury prone. I just hope they sign a CB soon though its such a huge hole right now.

[derekshank]

My guess is Hall is going to get the big money.

Yep. And the Bengals don't even need to hurry. Leon Hall is only making $3.3 mil this season, and they have until the end of the year to reach the cap floor... so a big fat $12million signing bonus on an extension mid-season will do quite nicely in the event that MB has any trouble bridging the gap between the current roster and the salary floor.

So for those hoping that Joseph's departure would force MB to pony up for a big time FA... there's a nice splash of cold water. Expect a good dose of underwhelming mid-tier FAs like usual. MB knows how to manage a cap.

[cincyhokie]

MB knows how to manage a cap.

Compared to who? Seriously? Well then, it's a good thing we can win at managing the cap. It's evident we're not good at actually winning consistently.

Annnnd the rest of the competitive NFL zooms on by...

Business as usual, folks. Nothing to see here. Move along.

[bwillycuse]

MB knows how to manage a cap.

Compared to who? Seriously? Well then, it's a good thing we can win at managing the cap. It's evident we're not good at actually winning consistently.

Annnnd the rest of the competitive NFL zooms on by...

Business as usual, folks. Nothing to see here. Move along.

this is a rebuilding year, we have a nice young core. losing jjoe sucks but he was by no means a shut down corner. in no way do I think we are going to have a good record this year, but its start over time.

of course Mikey can manage a cap. Who cares if we pay now or later in the season. Money paid can only be applied to one season. You really want to overpay for getting mediocrity here looking for a big payday. Bengals cannot attract anyone at the moment. They need this year to convince free agents to come here. The coaches have a lot of work to do. Win a few games. Attract positive attention rather than circus attention. Get rid of those who aren't willing to have the intestinal fortitude to work hard all season knowing this year isn't a super bowl year.

Imagine that. Working as a team. I repeat. The team is very young. No one on the team should have any size of an ego. I am interested to see who steps up as team leaders.

Do we have whiners, crybabies, primadonnas, quitters, blame deflectors? Or do we have accountable, persevering, hard working ball players. We know what the former got us.

Going into a season with no expectations is refreshing.

I'm kind of excited to see our new team.Maybe Ill like this team. Not saying i didn't like the last team, but rooting for Palmer, Ocho and TO was hard. I mean, the overall obvious lack of effort and desire was maddening. The new guys are what was refreshing.

I want this team to work to win, and hopefully learn from losses. The last team acted like they deserved to win and wined and deflected when it didn't go their way.

[BengalPimp]

Really guys? You're surprised by this? We all saw it coming. I can't say i blame JJoe for wanting out (Carson either for that matter). Who the F*ck wants to play for this F*cked up franchise? NOBODY! That's why no Free-Agents want to sign here!

Look, if they were working under the rules and had the same payroll as a few years ago, I wouldn't really mind letting him go, as I don't think he's worth anywhere near the 5 year almost $50 million contract he signed......BUT.....This is a different year, with different Salary Cap rules, AND THEY KNEW THEY HAD TO SPEND TONS OF MONEY......Why not pay the man?

Most people on here agree that if they "could" only keep one, Hall would be the one to keep....But being so far below the Cap Floor they "could" have kept both.

Watch now as the Bengals will overpay some crappy CB because they weren't aggressive enough with JJoe.

We've seen it before. Matter of fact we saw it a couple of years ago.....They didn't wan't to pay TJ, a year later in desperation they paid MORE for Antonio Bryant.....Excellent GM skills Mikey.

(for the record, I think JJoe will disappoint in Houston, similar to the way TJ did in Seattle, but JJoe probably more due to health)

Mike Brown for GM of The Year !!!!!!!!

[membengal]

Some of you guy really need to find your relax button.

I am seriously confused over some of the anger. I had written this season off as a rebuilding year about three seconds after last season ended. Which was about the time that Palmer quit. Once Palmer quit, this die was cast. I am with bwilly (fat old), perhaps we are alone on this with Hair and Derek, but I am looking forward to turning the page. Jonathan Joseph was not going to change this team's trajectory in 2011, and given his frequent trips to the injured list, I always had questions as to how much of a tentpole he was for when this team is good again.

In the meantime, I am kinda psyched for seeing AJ Green and the rest of those young receivers work together without Chad. I am psyched to see them work with quarterbacks who both profile as actual leaders, as opposed to what we had here for Palmer era. And in terms of replacing Jonathan Joseph, well, I am somewhat content that he plays one position that is manned by a position coach and a defensive coordinator who are really good at their jobs. So I am guessing whatever FA they get in combination with what is still on the roster will fill the gap nicely.

Perhaps I am sanguine because this always looked like a 4-win season to me from the moment that Palmer quit. But it is, at least, a 4-win type season with a purpose, as opposed to the hell that was the Bengals last year. Or, really, the hell that was the Bengals in 2008. 2009 was a nice surprise, but, really, masked the prolonged death throes of that Chad/Carson era.

We have moved on now, and it pleases me. Best of luck to Joseph in Houston, hope he finds some health and is good. He was a good guy here. But he wasn't the tentpole some of you think, and I suspect he will disappoint Houston fans over time relative to his contract and the expectations he will come in with.

[walzav29]

What is irritating is that a real team, makes steps. 1st you get to the playoffs, then you get to a championship game, then you get to a Super Bowl. Building and fine tuning after each season. We won the division and are smacked right back into a rebuild. This core is better though. It's just frustrating that it's the same stuff. I love Green and Dalton. I just hate writing off a season when the team has talent to compete for the division. Except when you lose your QB, WR, and RB.

[membengal]

This team's window under the quitter and Chad closed. 2009 was nice, but the quitter made certain that they changed that model. The Bengals did what the quitter wanted, it blew up, and shards of the 2010 season are still on everyone's face. The quitter, instead of owning his place in that, has, well, quit.

So, yeah, we are in rebuild now. But the Bengals have not really committed to a rebuild since 2003 when ML took over. Since that time, they have...built (around Carson...and around Chad). That era, for better or worse, is now done. I wish it had been more successful too, but, hey, at least we will always have the weeks before the two playoff games as good memories. And Carson's comeback in 2006.

But...it's done now. And I, for one, am glad to move on. I know I am not alone in long since having gotten tired of the Chad circus that defined that era, or, now, Carson's quitting.

A fresh start and something new. Sounds good to me. The rookies seem psyched to be here, and I am psyched to root for them. I am moving on.

[semiotter]

Wow being Lions dont feel so bad right now...

[bwillycuse]

This team's window under the quitter and Chad closed. 2009 was nice, but the quitter made certain that they changed that model. The Bengals did what the quitter wanted, it blew up, and shards of the 2010 season are still on everyone's face. The quitter, instead of owning his place in that, has, well, quit.

So, yeah, we are in rebuild now. But the Bengals have not really committed to a rebuild since 2003 when ML took over. Since that time, they have...built (around Carson...and around Chad). That era, for better or worse, is now done. I wish it had been more successful too, but, hey, at least we will always have the weeks before the two playoff games as good memories. And Carson's comeback in 2006.

But...it's done now. And I, for one, am glad to move on. I know I am not alone in long since having gotten tired of the Chad circus that defined that era, or, now, Carson's quitting.

A fresh start and something new. Sounds good to me. The rookies seem psyched to be here, and I am psyched to root for them. I am moving on.

I ordered an AJ Green jersey yesterday because I wouldn't be caught dead in my Palmer jersey. Need to think of what to do with that. Maybe wear it while i am working on my car or snaking a clogged drain.