Bengals '05 Free Agents

[HoosierCat]

Courtesy of The Post:

Player Pos. Exp. Status

Rashad Bauman CB 3 RFA

Rich Braham C 11 UFA

Frank Chamberlin LB 4 UFA

Jerry Fontenot C 16 UFA

T.J. Houshmandzadeh WR 4 UFA

Rudi Johnson RB 4 UFA

Anthony Mitchell S 5 UFA

Reggie Myles CB 3 RFA

Carl Powell DE 6 UFA

Kyle Richardson P 7 UFA

Kenny Watson RB 3 RFA

Marcus Wilkins LB 3 RFA

Tony Williams DT 8 UFA

My thoughts...

RFAs to tender: all of them. Wilkins, Myles, and Bauman are all worth keeping and should cost only low-end tenders. Kenny Watson may require a bigger tender offer, but with a lot of RBs looking to hit the market this offseason I don't expect him to draw huge interest.

UFAs to let go: Williams, Richardson, Mitchell, Fontenot, Braham, Chamberlin. If it turns out we need Braham back he'll be there, no one is going to sign him. I'd like to see Chamberlin, he looked like he had potential.

The big calls: Powell, Rudi, TJ. Powell has flashes, like the game against the Bills, but has never impressed me as anything more than a career backup. Still, he's versatile and plays hard. If we can bring him back cheap, fine, otherwise, see ya later. Rudi and TJ are the two biggies. But if I start talking about them here now, kirk will yell at me for using up more Bengals Banter fodder so I'll just put them on the table for everyone else. Talk amongst yourselves!

[CTBengalsFan]

RESIGN RUDI AND TJ!!!

CHEMISTRY!!!!!!!!!1

[ShulaSteakhouse]

Lapham said the Bengals are going to franchise Rudi - that also allows them to avoid paying him a lot of upfront money - that is key (and why the players hate it so much).

I think they can trim some expensive fat on defense - and they will no longer be paying vets like Rich Braham and Fontenot I take it either. Bobbie Williams is junk too and I wish Marvin would quit getting rid of guys like Goff and replacing them with people who are no better and then being stuck with their salaries.

I say resign Rudi and TJ, and upgrade anywhere you can through the draft and FA - ecspecially at LB, the 0-line, and at DE and safety/CB.

[The_Next_Big_Thing]

I'd like to see Chamberlin, he looked like he had potential.

Powell has flashes, like the game against the Bills, but has never impressed me as anything more than a career backup. Still, he's versatile and plays hard.

Just like TJ and KK, Powell is a career backup. TJ has played his way into a starting position. Teams are built around the career backups they have as backups. Not everyone on the 53 man roster can be a starter. Only 22 men can be starters. That leaves 31 BACKUPS on the roster.

[bengalboomer7]

You know I love all my bengals and I'm not going to say whether or not to sign them but I will say this. Guyd likr both zRudi and TJ have exspressed how much they love Marvin and how much they love playing in Cincy, well this is one quick way to find out. Both guys are pretty young and are coming off pretty much breakout seasons in both first year's as a full time starter. There is some team out there that will offer both of these guys more than we can, so will they take the salary cap friendly offer the bengals make (ala patsies) or will they go for the big bucks. I really like Rudi, and like I've said before he just reminds me of Curtis Martin, you don't hear a lot about them, sometimes even in the games and you look up and before you know it they are both closing in on 100. Rudi, durability is also a big plus. But it all comes down to how much they love the bengals and how well can Marvin, Katie, and Mike pitch this young team to make these guys stay put.

By the way, I hate friggen agents, I've been listening to ESPN ramble on about Scott Boras

To use a good snoop dog phrase. "It like having eleven dollar words coming out of your two dollar mouth"

[BengalsMan3203]

Do whaatever it takes to re sign rudi.

He is a team player, you never hear anything bad about the kid. He is a True playa and will help this team in the long run. He is what Lewis is lookin for or else we would of never signed him to play this year.

[bengalboomer7]

Totally agree, bengals man, But as we all know the price is gotta be right

[HoosierCat]

Just like TJ and KK, Powell is a career backup. TJ has played his way into a starting position. Teams are built around the career backups they have as backups. Not everyone on the 53 man roster can be a starter. Only 22 men can be starters. That leaves 31 BACKUPS on the roster.

I never said there was anything wrong with having good backups. But I'd rather look to improve (say by taking Marcus Spears in April) than overpay to bring Powell back.

[bengalboomer7]

I just had I thought I'd like to share. Even with a defensive coach do you think we could end up spending most of our money on offense where all the FA;s are and run up the score like Indy does. In all honesty, if we stay healthy next year and things pan out we could have that kind of offfense, Just one of those thoughts that randomly creeps into your head

[The_Next_Big_Thing]

Boomer, since the bengals defense, even with all the injuries, has been sound at the end of this season, we don't need that many more new players to have a good defense. I think you will see Marvin balance his draft and free agency moves towards both offense and defense.

[bengals200485]

What about peter Warrick??? Ain't his contract up to??

I say we resign Peter TJ and Rudi then we will be just as good as Indy

And draft some Hard Hitting D-Men Please!!!!!!!!!!!!

GO BENGALS!!!!!!

[oldschooler]

What about peter Warrick??? Ain't his contract up to??

I say we resign Peter TJ and Rudi then we will be just as good as Indy

And draft some Hard Hitting D-Men Please!!!!!!!!!!!!

GO BENGALS!!!!!!

Warrick is signed through the 2005 season.

As far as the Defense.

Does any1 think that the 9 PLAYERS FROM THE DEFENSE THAT ARE ON IR

MIGHT UPGRADE THEM ?

The Bengals are ranked 19th in TOTAL defense.

They are ranked 26th against the run and 13th against the pass !

This is with 9 PLAYERS ON IR and using 5 rookies and one 2nd year player

playing major roles !

The Bengals have improved to 26th in rush defense at 131.4; four of their last six opponents have failed to reach 100 yards rushing.

After the 1st Ravens game (3rd game of the season) the Bengals were

giving up an average of 166 yards per game ! The last 11 games they

have shaved 35 yards off that average !

I don`t think the Defense needs as much as some people think.

I think 1 BIG DT to take Tony Williams spot would be more than enough

to put this defense into the top 10 !

[HoosierCat]

Does any1 think that the 9 PLAYERS FROM THE DEFENSE THAT ARE ON IR

MIGHT UPGRADE THEM ?

At certain positions, most notably LB and DT, yes. Getting Webster and Abdullah back ought to improve the LB corps significantly, and if Askew blossoms next year that would certainly help on the DT front.

However, there isn't much help for the secondary to be found on IR. Dennis Weathersby may never be back, and Greg Brooks is a sixth-round pick. Anything we get out of him is a bonus. And while Ratliff seems to be coming on, there's still a big drop-off after James and O'Neal, and James isn't getting any younger. At safety we have Madieu Williams followed by a bunch of junk. *Maybe* Beckett is worth something, he looked good last year but hasn't been able to get on the field much this year thanks to injury. But Herring has been nothing special and K2 is K2.

I will be very surprised if the bengals do not take a DB on day 1.

[The_Next_Big_Thing]

Regarding TJ vs. Warrick...

Do you realize that he has had a better season this season than Warrick had in ANY of his seasons?

[oldschooler]

Regarding TJ vs. Warrick...

Do you realize that he has had a better season this season than Warrick had in ANY of his seasons?

Warrick has never had Palmer throwing to him either.

Hey if the Palmer factor works for the Rudi haters .......

[bengalboomer7]

Other than Williams (won't be back anyway) and Webster most of the defensive IR"S were backups I think. That improves our depth a lot, but we still need some playmakers on that side of the ball

[oldschooler]

Other than Williams (won't be back anyway) and Webster most of the defensive IR"S were backups I think. That improves our depth a lot, but we still need some playmakers on that side of the ball

Left Defensive End

Clemons (has missed 1 game)

C. Powell (has missed 6 games)

Left Defensive Tackle

J. Thornton

S. Smith

M. Askew

(has 2 assist all season...0 tackles)

Right Defensive Tackle

L. Moore

T. Martin

G. Scott

T. Williams

Right Defensive End

J. Smith

R. Geathers

Left Outside Linebacker

K. Hardy

M. Wilkins

L. Stevens

L. Jackson

Middle Linebacker

L. Johnson

C. Miller

N. Webster

K. Abdullah

F. Chamberlin

Right Outside Linebacker

B. Simmons

L. Johnson

Left Cornerback

D. O'Neal (has missed 4 games)

K. Ratliff

T. Roberts

D. Weathersby

Free Safety

M. Williams

K. Herring

A. Mitchell

R. Joseph

Strong Safety

R. Beckett (has missed 7 games....was supposed to be the starter)

K. Kaesviharn

K. Ratliff

Right Cornerback

T. James

R. Myles

R. Bauman

G. Brooks

There are 10 players from the Defense on IR.

[bengalboomer7]

Most of them are guys that weren't going to start anyway, but what it did is made our thrid and fourth string guys become first and second string it helped the learning curve for Marvin's draft, but it makes are depth look pretty solid for next year

[schweinhart]

Here's some more Rudi fodder.

In total yards this year both run and pass, Rudi ranks 10 among RBs in NFL with 1,395 yds.

Among UFAs, Rudi is 3rd in yds both rushing and combine yds behind the Edge and Alexander.

Factor in the top 3 college RBs likely to go in 1st half of rd.1 (Benson, Cadillac, and Ronnie Brown) and Rudi could be as low as the 6th choice for teams w/ RB needs to go after.

Teams w/ greatest feature RB need as of today seem to be:

1. Fins

2. Raiders

3. 49ers

4. Cards

5. Browns

6. Bucs

7. Bears

If Colts lose Edge and Hawks Alexander, then they bump up the RB priority. Would not be surprised to see Colts bid for Lamont Jordan if Edge goes for cap reasons.

While Rudi gets more money up front on open market via signing bonus plus salary than straight 1-yr franchise salary, I'm not convinced franchising Rudi equates to less of a cap hit than if he hits open market because he will most likely be the 6th choice at feature RB in off-season, which should drive his value down to the transition tag level.

Still, I say let the man fetch what he can get out of respect to him for his efforts.

[The_Next_Big_Thing]

Other than Williams (won't be back anyway) and Webster most of the defensive IR"S were backups I think. That improves our depth a lot, but we still need some playmakers on that side of the ball

Abdullah and Chamberlin were both going to be fighting Hardy for a starting spot, and both would have been big players on special teams.

Next Year, pencil out Hardy and pencil in Abdullah!

[schweinhart]

Does any1  think that the 9 PLAYERS FROM THE DEFENSE THAT ARE ON IR

MIGHT UPGRADE THEM ?

At certain positions, most notably LB and DT, yes. Getting Webster and Abdullah back ought to improve the LB corps significantly, and if Askew blossoms next year that would certainly help on the DT front.

However, there isn't much help for the secondary to be found on IR. Dennis Weathersby may never be back, and Greg Brooks is a sixth-round pick. Anything we get out of him is a bonus. And while Ratliff seems to be coming on, there's still a big drop-off after James and O'Neal, and James isn't getting any younger. At safety we have Madieu Williams followed by a bunch of junk. *Maybe* Beckett is worth something, he looked good last year but hasn't been able to get on the field much this year thanks to injury. But Herring has been nothing special and K2 is K2.

I will be very surprised if the bengals do not take a DB on day 1.

The case is definitely there for Day 1 DB, but IMO the secondary towed the line well enough this year with really no absolute mismatches vs. other teams WR sets.

Granted James has numbered days but the IR pair of Bauman and Brooks should be enough combined with Ratliff, Roberts and Myles AND Madieu and K2 when needed to backup O'Neal and James (if James in fact wins starting job next year).

DB as in interchangeable saftey (like James Butler of Ga Tech) makes more sense than straight CB IMO because of Beckett's status -- I think he might retire. It would be nice to see a SS who has solid coverage skills but can also play 8th in box vs. more physical runners better than either Herring or K2 can.

In other words, Madieu needs a clone back there with him when he's not pressed into CB duty. Mitchell has been playing 8th in the box but not sure his coverage skills are enough.

[HoosierCat]

Here's some more Rudi fodder.

In total yards this year both run and pass, Rudi ranks 10 among RBs in NFL with 1,395 yds.

Among UFAs, Rudi is 3rd in yds both rushing and combine yds behind the Edge and Alexander.

Factor in the top 3 college RBs likely to go in 1st half of rd.1 (Benson, Cadillac, and Ronnie Brown) and Rudi could be as low as the 6th choice for teams w/ RB needs to go after.

Teams w/ greatest feature RB need as of today seem to be:

1. Fins

2. Raiders

3. 49ers

4. Cards

5. Browns

6. Bucs

7. Bears

If Colts lose Edge and Hawks Alexander, then they bump up the RB priority. Would not be surprised to see Colts bid for Lamont Jordan if Edge goes for cap reasons.

While Rudi gets more money up front on open market via signing bonus plus salary than straight 1-yr franchise salary, I'm not convinced franchising Rudi equates to less of a cap hit than if he hits open market because he will most likely be the 6th choice at feature RB in off-season, which should drive his value down to the transition tag level.

Still, I say let the man fetch what he can get out of respect to him for his efforts.

Yup, yup, yup. Good points, schweinart. The only thing I'd note is that even if the Hawks and/or Colts turn out to be in the RB market, that just means there's another big-name RB out there, which doesn't improve Rudi's chances of getting a big deal.

[turningpoint]

I'd like to see Chamberlin, he looked like he had potential.

Powell has flashes, like the game against the Bills, but has never impressed me as anything more than a career backup. Still, he's versatile and plays hard.

Just like TJ and KK, Powell is a career backup. TJ has played his way into a starting position. Teams are built around the career backups they have as backups. Not everyone on the 53 man roster can be a starter. Only 22 men can be starters. That leaves 31 BACKUPS on the roster.

plus the punter and kicker, that makes 24....

[The_Next_Big_Thing]

I'd like to see Chamberlin, he looked like he had potential.

Powell has flashes, like the game against the Bills, but has never impressed me as anything more than a career backup. Still, he's versatile and plays hard.

Just like TJ and KK, Powell is a career backup. TJ has played his way into a starting position. Teams are built around the career backups they have as backups. Not everyone on the 53 man roster can be a starter. Only 22 men can be starters. That leaves 31 BACKUPS on the roster.

plus the punter and kicker, that makes 24....

Oh my god! You are so right. My point is destroyed. There are only 29 backups on the roster....

[jditty47]

resign tj if we can get him cheap like 1 mill. let rudi go as well as all the rest. only one i would keep is myles.