Offseason Analysis: Cincinnati Bengals
Fantasy Football, NFL February 11th. 2009, 11:00am
The Benglas are such a mess. That’s what I said when I previewed them before last season, and nothing has changed. Strike that, they are even more of a mess. At least you figured they’d be fine on Offense last year. Now they have a QB (Carson Palmer) coming off an injury, their rushing attack is a mess, and their WRs still don’t want to play for them. Cedric Benson looked great down the stretch, but he’s an unrestricted free agent. I’m not convinced he’s an RB you can depend on for a full season, especially in a losing environment. Chris Perry is also a free agent, and he’s never really lived up to the hype. I see little chance Houshmandzadeh sticks around. Chad Ocho Cinco has been quiet (nice, huh?), but you know it’s only a mtatter of time before he gets his name in the papers. Chris Henry has to avoid getting arrested in the offseason or he’ll sit out a whole year. In case you’ve been under a rock, the Bungles are back.
John Thornton and Kyries Hebert are the biggest FA’s on D.
The plan for the Bengals will be to figure out who’s running the ball and who’s catching the ball next year. Good luck with that.
**UPDATE: FB Daniel Coats re-signed.**
**UPDATE: Shayne Graham was franchised**
| Pos | Player Name | FA Status | Previous Team | Current Team |
| QB | Ryan Fitzpatrick | UFA | Cincinnati Bengals | Free Agent |
| RB | Cedric Benson | UFA | Cincinnati Bengals | Free Agent |
| RB | DeDe Dorsey | RFA | Cincinnati Bengals | Free Agent |
| RB | Chris Perry | RFA | Cincinnati Bengals | Free Agent |
| RB | Quincy Wilson | UFA | Cincinnati Bengals | Free Agent |
| FB | Daniel Coats | ERFA | Cincinnati Bengals | Free Agent |
| WR | T.J. Houshmandzadeh | UFA | Cincinnati Bengals | Free Agent |
| PK | Shayne Graham | UFA | Cincinnati Bengals | Free Agent |
| DL | John Thornton | UFA | Cincinnati Bengals | Free Agent |
| DL | Jimmy Verdon | RFA | Cincinnati Bengals | Free Agent |
| CB | Brandon Williams | UFA | Cincinnati Bengals | Free Agent |
| SS | Kyries Hebert | UFA | Cincinnati Bengals | Free Agent |
| SS | Ethan Kilmer | Signed | Cincinnati Bengals | Miami Dolphins |
February 11th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
chad’s needs to go hang out in dallas with TO, those 2 would be the dream team of the whiners.
chris isn’t even that good a WR, so go ahead & get arrested..
Housh, is the ONLY solid one out of the bunch.
Bensn did look good, but you are right, u can’t count on him!
THAT was the killer closing line LMAO!
February 11th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
and it’s evident today i cannot spell, 4give me please LMAO!
February 11th, 2009 at 12:15 pm
No worries. I’d like to see if Ocho was on a winner if he’d whine. We know the answer to that ? for MeO.
February 11th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
LMFAO!!!!!!!!!!!
February 11th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
Henry fumbled like a hundred times
Irons never ironed out
I call it the Ki Jana Carter Curse
The Bungles should have cloned Dillon or Rudi
but they did drafdt those 2 young WR’s last year, so adios Ocho may be best
February 11th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
ocho needs to go. they have swung and missed on rbs the last few tries
February 11th, 2009 at 6:50 pm
Calling them a mess is being nice. On the other hand, they led the league in IRs, and were still able to surprisingly hang in some games. Cowher said the Bengals could be next year’s surprise. Who knows … and I’m like many Cincinnatians – who cares.
Here’s their free agent list as per the beat writer.
Unrestricted Po. Ht Wt Exp
Stacy Andrews OT 6-7 342 5 (Last year’s tag)
Cedric Benson RB 5-11 220 4
Darryl Blackstock LB 6-3 255 4
Chris Crocker FS 5-11 200 6
Ryan Fitzpatrick QB 6-2 225 4
Jamar Fletcher DB 5-10 180 8
Eric Ghiaciuc C 6-4 303 3
Shayne Graham K 6-0 225 8
T.J. Houshmandzadeh WR 6-1 199 8
John Thornton DT 6-3 297 10
Restricted Po. Ht Wt Exp
John Busing DB 6-2 221 3
DeDe Dorsey RB 5-11 203 3
Glenn Holt WR 6-1 193 3
Rashad Jeanty LB 6-2 245 3
Brandon Johnson LB 6-5 245 3
Corey Mays LB 6-1 245 4
February 11th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
They need to blow things up in Cincy a la the Portland Trailblazers and get a new mentality in there. Much harder in football, but just get rid of the bad seeds and let the good guys keep order.
February 11th, 2009 at 7:28 pm
I have heard some say that Ocho-Cinco is eager to get back to work, and if Carson Palmer is healthy the Bengals Offense “might” improve quite a bit, So maybe they could be looking up. But they are the Bengals so it probably will not happen.
February 11th, 2009 at 7:36 pm
I’d like to see it happen, but I’m not convinced.
February 12th, 2009 at 8:43 am
It’s a deep trade market for receivers this year. That’s even more reason the Bengals will not get nearly as much for Ocho Cinco as they could have last year.
February 12th, 2009 at 8:48 am
True. Trades rarely seem to happen in the NFL though.
February 12th, 2009 at 8:51 am
ya i know, i just felt like droppin in on ya LMAO!
February 12th, 2009 at 8:56 am
Though it could happen. Might as well get something.