By Joe Kay
The Associated Press

Takeo Spikes, the emotional leader of the Bengals' defense, said in a phone interview late Thursday that he hopes the team lets him become a free agent rather than forcing him to stay for one more year.

Spikes' contract is up, but he expects the team to use its franchise or transition tag to keep him.

"I don't want a tag on me," said Spikes, who has turned down interviews since midseason. "I feel like my time is done. I did all I can do. I did all that I owed not only to them, but to myself.

"I just want to win. I just want to compete. That's my whole objective. I don't look at the time I spent in Cincinnati as wasted time. I just want to go somewhere to compete and win."

The Bengals are coming off a 2-14 season that was the worst in team history. Spikes, a first-round draft pick in 1998, has been the team's best defensive player, but has never made the playoffs, the Pro Bowl or Monday Night Football.

Cincinnati hasn't had a winning season since 1990, going 55-137 since owner Mike Brown took control.

Spikes, interviewed at his home in Georgia, said he hadn't spoken to Marvin Lewis, who was chosen head coach on Tuesday night. Lewis was expected to meet with the media Friday at Paul Brown Stadium.

As last season degenerated, Spikes called for changes starting at the top of the organization. He was encouraged by Lewis' hiring, but isn't sure it will make much of a difference by itself.

Brown won't bring in a general manager or give total control of the roster to his head coach.

"The main thing now is: Is it really going to change?" Spikes said. "Will Marvin Lewis have enough control to do what needs to be done to get this team on track? That's what it boils down to.

"You can bring Vince Lombardi back, but if Vince Lombardi doesn't have the say-so to get his troops ready, it's not going to happen."

For the third time in the last nine years, the Bengals have the first overall pick in the draft. Spikes said it would be a big mistake if they once again take a quarterback.

Southern California's Carson Palmer is considered by some draft analysts as the best quarterback available. The Bengals are scouting him at the Senior Bowl, and Brown has been fixated on the quarterback position for years.

The Bengals took David Klingler in 1992 and Akili Smith in 1999, hoping they'd be franchise quarterbacks. Both first-round picks got thrown into the starting lineup fast and never developed.

During each of Spikes' five seasons in Cincinnati, the Bengals have opened with a different quarterback. Last season, they let Gus Frerotte start the first three games, gave Smith one start, then let Jon Kitna finish the season.

When the season ended, the Bengals had four quarterbacks on the active roster, including Joe Germaine.

"All five years I've been there, they never did know who the starting quarterback was going to be," Spikes said. "This year, if they draft Carson Palmer, they might not know again who the quarterback is going to be. That kills the morale of a team.

"I don't think they should draft a quarterback. Cincinnati can win with Kitna. Nothing against Carson Palmer, but if you draft a quarterback with the first pick, he's setting the franchise back, and setting Marvin Lewis back, at least three or four years."

Return to Bengals front page...