Addressing their cornerback problems, the Bengals turned to a hometown player they wooed but failed to land in the past, agreeing to a two-year contract with Carlton Gray on Tuesday.

Carlton Gray was released by the Chiefs on Monday. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

        Gray, who turns 30 on June 26, was scheduled to fly into Cincinnati late Wednesday. The deal is contingent on him passing a physical this morning.

        Gray, a nine-year pro and a Cincinnati native, had turned down invitations from the Bengals as recently as 1999, before he signed with the Kansas City Chiefs. But agent Marvin Demoff contacted the Bengals earlier this week about Gray playing in his hometown, said Jim Lippincott, Bengals director of pro/college personnel.

        Gray played football for Forest Park High School — now Winton Woods — and still owns a home in Cincinnati.

        “Carlton is someone we've valued for a long time,” Lippincott said. “He's a very bright guy. He's got good size (6 feet, 200 pounds). He's an experienced vet, and he knows how to play the game.”

        Gray was drafted by the Seattle Seahawks in 1993 in the second round and has played for the Indianapolis Colts, the New York Giants and the Chiefs, who released Gray on Monday.

        His best season was 1995 with the Seahawks, when he started all 16 games and made 68 solo tackles with four interceptions.

        The Bengals are not automatically handing Gray a starting position.

        “That's something he's gonna have to earn,” Lippincott said. “What he adds to us is that experienced leadership. The one thing we have at each position group is competition for starting jobs.”

        Other Bengals free-agent signings this offseason include quarterback Jon Kitna, defensive linemen Tony Williams and Kevin Henry, offensive tackle Richmond Webb, kicker Richie Cunningham and fullback Lorenzo Neal.

        So why the change of heart by Gray?

        “(Previously), my concern and focus was on the size of the contract,” Gray said. “It was just the circumstances and a little bit of immaturity.”

        Just being home, closer to his family and around the Carlton Gray Foundation, his nonprofit organization, will make him happier than he has been in a long time, he said.

        “I'd feel like I'm there for the right reasons,” he said. “Maturity makes me want to be closer to that stuff.”

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