Wednesday, February 16, 2000Key players to visit Bengals
Tongue, Barndt targeted for for defense
BY GEOFF HOBSON
The Cincinnati EnquirerThe Bengals may be facing their litmus test in free agency today when they host two starters from the Kansas City Chiefs in defensive tackle Tom Barndt and safety Reggie Tongue.
Tongue is the best safety on the market, and Barndt is the player the Bengals have targeted to beef up the middle of their line.
With the market yielding huge deals to such players as Patriots safety Lawyer Milloy ($5 million a year) and Bengals backup nose tackle Kimo von Oelhoffen ($10 million for four years with the Steelers), it's hard to see the Bengals signing either Tongue or Barndt if they plan to sign two or three free agents for about $5.5 million.
And the Bengals still need to secure a starting cornerback. Baltimore's DeRon Jenkins gets his Paul Brown Stadium tour Thursday. Minnesota's Jimmy Hitchcock and New England's Steve Israel come in next week.
Plus, the Bengals are contacting veteran backup quarterbacks, among them Jacksonville's Jay Fiedler and Chicago's Jim Miller, as well as high-priced punters. The club has contacted former Bengal Mitch Berger, now with the Vikings, and the agent for San Diego's Darren Bennett said his client will visit Cincinnati next week.
On Tuesday, the Bengals opened negotiations with Packers defensive end Vaughn Booker.
Bengals defensive line coach Tim Krumrie covets Barndt, a 6-foot-3, 301-pounder who turns 28 next month. He's a blue-collar guy who played in 91 percent of the plays in a 3-4 defense in 1998 before moving into a rotation with Dan Williams and Chester McGlockton.
Barndt visited Cincinnati last season when he was a restricted free agent.
But the Arizona Cardinals have indicated they want Barndt so badly that they are willing to offer him a deal that's good enough to take him off the circuit. Plus Barndt recently moved to nearby Las Vegas.
Tongue, coming to Cincinnati from a Tennessee visit, is highly regarded in the Bengals' film room. Secondary coach Ray Horton likes Tongue's range and playmaking that forced three fumbles in the Chiefs' opener against the Bears last season.
One trip that was taken wasn't really a trip. Bengals running back Corey Dillon went to Tuesday's Spurs-Cavaliers NBA game in Cleveland, but the Browns said the restricted free agent wasn't there to visit them.
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