Carter out of condition
Running back Ki-Jana Carter did not receive passing grades at the Bengals' recent camp in Florida.
''He has to start working harder. He has to get himself in better condition,'' said President and General Manager Mike Brown. ''He has to be in tip-top shape to help us get where we want to go.''
Carter walked into the starting job earlier this year when Garrison Hearst signed with San Francisco.
Asked how Carter looked in Orlando, head coach Bruce Coslet said, ''He was there.''
|
Start printing those T-shirts.
''Boomer's Back-ing Up Blakemania.''
Boomer Esiason, who attained fame and fortune as the Bengals' swashbuckling Super Bowl quarterback, is expected to return today as Jeff Blake's backup. A news conference was scheduled for today.
Esiason left Spinney Field after Friday afternoon's meeting with General Manager Mike Brown and coach Bruce Coslet mulling deals from the Bengals and Packers.
He couldn't be reached Friday night to confirm he had accepted Cincinnati's two-year deal with a salary of about $1.5 million.
A Packers source said his club was no longer in the picture and all indications were they have worked out a deal with Steve Bono to back up Brett Favre.
Earlier in the day, Gerald Colton, Esiason's agent, said, ''He's leaning to Cincinnati.''
After luring members of the 1988 Super Bowl team to the coaching staff, Coslet has turned to the symbol of that club in Esiason, that season's AFC MVP who turns 36 in 12 days.
''What a way to go,'' said Esiason, at ease as a backup after 11 straight seasons as a starter. ''You come back full circle with the team you started with. Guys like Dick LeBeau and Ray Horton are back. Guys who have had a lot of success here. There's no reason why I wouldn't want to be a part of that.''
Esiason visited Green Bay on Monday, where he said the Packers wanted to sign him so he could go to their quarterback camp the next day.
But after Esiason was cut by Arizona last month, he said he told the Bengals he wouldn't sign with a club until he got back with them, giving them what amounted to first refusal. The Bengals offered slightly more than the Pack.
''They had to,'' Esiason said.
What Esiason probably couldn't refuse in the end was the proximity to the Gunnar Esiason Cystic Fibrosis and Lung Center at Children's Hospital. Gunnar, Boomer's son, turns six Sunday and has been his father's inspiration for a one-man fight against CF.
''It's his hospital. I'll always have a residence here no matter what I'm doing,'' said Esiason.
Coslet is also a huge factor for Esiason after playing for a different head coach in each of the last six seasons. Coslet and Esiason spent the 1993 season with the Jets after the Bengals granted Esiason's trade demand.
Coslet is intrigued with the cycle of Cincinnati quarterbacks:
- After he was drafted in the second round of the 1984 draft, Esiason backed up current offensive coordinator Ken Anderson before they eventually switched.
- After the Jets drafted him in the sixth round of the 1992 draft, Blake was the No. 3 quarterback behind Esiason for a season.
- In all-time passing yards, ''Kenny is No. 1, Boomer is second and Jeff is third, and we could have them all here,'' Coslet said. ''The thing that would kill us is if Jeff would go down, and we don't have any experience back there.''
Erik Wilhelm, Blake's backup last season, has thrown 19 passes in the last four seasons.
Esiason, who had the third most prolific passing day in NFL history last season with the Arizona Cardinals, still thinks he can produce. Between two benchings, he had a three-game run of 1,149 passing yards that stopped his thoughts of retirement.
Esiason could have easily doubled his salary if he opted for the television booth.
''I have a generous offer in front of me, but I don't know if the timing is right,'' Esiason said. ''As far as media goes, the NFL (TV) contracts are coming up in August and there could be shuffling of networks. There could be spots opening up, but the timing's not the greatest.''
WITH BOOMER, BENGALS ARE BETTER Sullivan column
Free agency stories
PACK WAITS AS ESIASON MEETS WITH BENGALS April 4, 1997
ESIASON TALKS WITH GREEN BAY April 1, 1997
SIRAGUSA, SMITH ENCOURAGED; BORGELLA SIGNS March 26, 1997
SIMMONS SAYS NO TO BENGALS March 25, 1997
LAST DAY FOR SIMMONS March 24, 1997
OFFER TO SIMMONS EXPIRES THIS WEEKEND March 22, 1997
BRAHAM INTERESTS PATRIOTS March 21, 1997
SIMMONS MAY FIT IN BUDGET March 19, 1997
BOOMER COULD BE BACK March 18, 1997
SARGENT SIGNS FOR 2 YEARS March 13, 1997
SUTTER SIGNS; SIMMONS TO VISIT March 12, 1997
HEARST HANDS BALL TO CARTER March 8, 1997
HARRIS, COLLINS LOOK ELSEWHERE March 6, 1997
MAP FAVORS BENGALS WITH FREE AGENTS March 5, 1997
3 FREE AGENTS VISIT TODAY March 4, 1997
CB HARRIS SETS FREE-AGENT VISIT Feb. 27, 1997
BENGALS MAKING HEADWAY WITH FREE AGENTS Feb. 25, 1997
BENGALS HAVE CAP ROOM FOR FREE AGENTS Feb. 15, 1997
BENGALS WON'T CHASE TOP FREE AGENTS Feb. 14, 1997
