Wednesday, January 05, 2000
Who wants to be a Bengal?
New faces will be added
BY GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Courtney Brown. Aaron Beasley. Chris Samuels. Terrell Buckley. Corey Simon. Matt Stover. Yes, even the name of Florida State wide receiver Peter Warrick is a possibility as the Bengals begin pondering their offseason options.
Brown, of Penn State, and Simon, of Florida State, are the top defensive line prospects in this year's draft. Alabama's Samuels is the leading offensive tackle.
Beasley and Buckley are free-agent cornerbacks.
Stover is a free-agent kicker who has beaten the Bengals at the gun for two different teams.
Warrick is the best player in the draft. If he fell to No. 4 on draft day, the Bengals could take him and celebrate by cutting Carl Pickens.
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POSSIBLE PICKUPS
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Here are free agents the Bengals might want to consider:
• Eric Zeier, QB: Tampa Bay backup who has played well vs. Cincy
• Craig Erickson, QB: Same agent as Jeff Blake
• Aaron Beasley, CB: Jaguar who picked Blake on Sunday
• Steve Israel, CB: Not great but good enough to upgrade
• Mike Dumas, S: They need an athlete at safety, which may mean draft
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At the moment, they are only names, and most can't be discussed publicly until juniors declare for the draft and free agency opens March 2. But you can guess those are the type of names that will be bandied around Spinney Field.
Bengals President Mike Brown knows he has holes to fill beyond cornerbacks and pass rushers on a defense that has given up a franchise-record 912 points the past two seasons.
He also needs a strong safety, a No.3 wide receiver, a backup veteran quarterback, and a kicker and punter to push and possibly replace Doug Pelfrey and Brad Costello.
“A lot of players could come and go before April and the draft,” Brown said.
That means free agency, but Brown won't talk about how much money he has to
spend. So what else is new? Certainly not his philosophy, which is that half of free agents are overpaid and ineffective and that winning teams live off drafting, the occasional trade and quarterback play.
Plus, the Bengals aren't going to have oodles of cash to throw around; the contracts of Pickens, Ki-Jana Carter and Reinard Wilson have a bigger impact on the salary cap than the players do on games.
According to NFL Player Association figures, the Bengals figure to have about $7 million for free agency. They already have about $40 million committed in cap value for 2000. That's without the salaries of their restricted free agents, offseason workouts and other cap items.
That $7 million could go quickly if left tackle Rod Jones and running back Corey Dillon re-sign. Jones looks to be the top priority among unrestricted free agents, along with guard Jay Leeuwenburg, in an effort to keep the offensive line intact. The Bengals figure Dillon is back because he's a restricted free agent.
If Jones leaves, the Bengals would be faced with a number of shuffles, among them moving Willie Anderson from right to left tackle and Brian DeMarco from right guard to right tackle. It's this constant flux and inability to keep players that has made the Bengals losers.
“(Jones) is going to benefit financially so we can have the flexibility of drafting somewhere else where we need to upgrade,” Brown said. “It could be cornerback or defensive line or safety, wherever.”
Bengals fans say there is no hope. Brown says there is, when looking at the playoff-bound Rams and Colts.
“The Colts went from 3-13 to 13-3 with the same coach,” Brown said. “What was the difference?
“The quarterback (Peyton Manning) matured and is a great player. St.Louis went from 5-11 to 13-3 with the same coach. What's the difference? The quarterback (Kurt Warner) came from nowhere to have one of the best seasons in a long time. They didn't even know they had him.”
But Brown said he has to get other players to support Akili Smith if the Bengals are to become the Rams or the Colts or even just the 9-7 Bengals of 1990.
“There is going to be a big difference,” Brown said. “Akili's the quarterback, and we're going to get new players at the spots we need them. We just don't know yet if it's in the draft, free agency or trade.”
NOTES: Defensive lineman Chad Pegues and tight end Damian Vaughn were promoted from the Bengals practice squad with two-year deals. Vaughn, a seventh-rounder out of Miami University in 1998, has spent his two seasons on the practice squad.
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