Mark Curnutte

Though the 14-week session is officially voluntary, 90-95 percent participation would not be out of the question. If Dillon remains on the Bengals roster on Monday, either his absence or presence would be a noted distraction. He was the only player under contract to miss the first voluntary minicamp last spring, and it sparked a brushfire that raged by October. Dillon's actions and attitude openly clashed with Lewis' team-first philosophy.

Dillon has repeatedly said he wants out of Cincinnati. He threw his equipment in the stands after his last game. He cleaned out his Paul Brown Stadium locker the next day.

He wants out, and to borrow one of Lewis' favorite sayings: This would be addition by subtraction.

Dillon did not return messages left on his cell phone this week. Maybe he'll shed some light on a proposed trade to Oakland as an in-studio guest on Fox Sports' Best Damn Sports Show Period at 8 and 10 p.m. today.

Sources close to the situation continue to tell the Enquirer that the Raiders have offered the Bengals a third-round draft pick in exchange for Dillon.

The Bengals are believed to be holding out for a second-rounder, but Raiders officials think the Bengals have no other offer as good and that they are the only NFL team that legitimately wants Dillon.

The Bengals cannot be blamed for trying to get the most in return for Dillon. They paid him a market-rate $11 million signing bonus in May 2001 when he signed a five-year contract.

But the Oakland deal looks like the best one out there. Maybe a better deal would come at the draft in April. Maybe not. The alternative to trading Dillon is releasing him after June 1 and getting nothing in return.

The Bengals are tight against the salary cap, and trading Dillon would free up $1.3 million in cap space - even while absorbing the rest of his signing bonus on this year's cap.

Freeing up the $1.3 million in 2004 cap space now would help the Bengals sign two free agents to bolster their under-achieving defense.

The Bengals have made an initial four-year, $16 million offer to defensive tackle Warren Sapp. Trading Dillon also would clear some space for free agent cornerback Bobby Taylor. The Bengals jumped back into bidding for Taylor with a new offer on Tuesday after Taylor's agent, Jason Medlock, said talks with the Bengals were dead on Monday night.

The Bengals have committed to Rudi Johnson as their featured running back by offering him a one-year contract of $1.824 million as a restricted free agent. Dillon would be an expensive and disruptive backup.

Johnson will be 25 in October. Dillon will be 30. That's a lifetime for running backs.

If the Bengals can indeed score Oakland's third-round pick, No. 67 overall, they should take it. Lewis has proven he can find players in the third, fourth and fifth rounds who can contribute as rookies. That No. 67 pick would likely yield a good interior offensive lineman, another speed wide receiver for Carson Palmer or depth at linebacker.

The Bengals let linebacker Takeo Spikes go when he wanted out. They got nothing for him. While Spikes earned a Pro Bowl berth, the Bengals won more games than the Bills and more than they'd ever won with Spikes on the roster.

Bengals' history is poised to repeat itself with Dillon.

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E-mail mcurnutte@enquirer.com

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