Sunday, March 04, 2001
Bengals dare to think big
Mike Brown was right about this salary cap stuff. He always said those teams that sought to beat the system with back-loaded, restructured contractual flim-flam eventually would find their ledgers out of whack.
Brown predicted a reckoning that has come to pass - with imprudent teams forced to dump expensive players to meet league payroll limits - and he hinted that when it happened, the Cincinnati Bengals would be prepared to pounce.
Guess what? Pouncing season has begun.
The free agent market formally opened Friday in the NFL, and the Bengals were so aggressive, you'd think they were still spending public funds. They are pursuing more high-profile
free agents than ever before - including Elvis Grbac, the best quarterback on the board - and they have the money to make things happen - a league-leading $14.8 million of cap room.
Someone catch me if I start to swoon.
At least there's hope
Friday's initiative doesn't necessarily mean the Bengals will sign anyone significant - making calls is not writing checks - but the effort alone is encouraging. It says the Bengals are daring to think bigger, disposed to spend sooner and determined to shore up some of their persistent problem areas. It is the most promising development at Paul Brown Stadium since they opened the place.
“You've just thrown your line in the water, but you've thrown a lot of lines in the water,” said Bengals personnel director Jim Lippincott. “Over the next few days, you'll see if you have any nibbles.”
Lippincott's list of preliminary contacts included two dozen players, and he was one of four Bengals executives making calls. Already, visits have been scheduled with such luminaries as Grbac, Pro Bowl tackle Ted Washington and defensive end Dana Stubblefield.
Any one of these three players would qualify as the biggest free agent signing the Bengals have ever made. All of them have fewer alternatives than they would wish.
Bidding war favors Bengals
According to NFL Management Council computations, eight teams are less than $1 million under next season's cap of $67.4 million, and more than half the teams are within $2.2 million of maxing out. Only three teams - Cleveland, Philadelphia and Kansas City - have even half as much cap room as the Bengals' $14.8 million.
This means there aren't many bidding wars the Bengals can't win. It means the Bengals will still have some discretionary dollars available after they have settled affairs with Corey Dillon (and that Dillon may not get as much as he imagines). It also may mean an imminent upgrade at quarterback: if not Grbac, then maybe Brad Johnson.
The Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens, eager to improve on the dubious Trent Dilfer, are pursuing both Grbac and Johnson. Given the choice, either player would much prefer the chance to lead the league's best team to landing with the Bengals.
But the Ravens have only $2.2 million of cap room available and might be hard-pressed to structure a competitive deal for a quality quarterback. At the point where the money starts to matter, the Bengals become a lot more attractive.
At least in theory.
E-mail tsullivan@enquirer.com. Past columns at Enquirer.com/columns/sullivan.
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SULLIVAN: Bengals dare to think big
