Since we do not now the exact free agency rules for the NFL heading into 2011 doing some of these to do lists is a little difficult. However, we can get a general picture of where each teams stands with their 2010 depth chart, what they did in the NFL draft, and any obvious holes that are currently on their roster. The Bengals do not have a lot of holes, but free agency could be a tad tricky for them, and they still have to deal with the Carson Palmer situation.
Since Carson no longer wants to play there, it seems rather silly to keep him there out of spite or stubbornness or for whatever reason Mike Brown wants to use to justify his stance on Palmer. The way the free agent QB class looks to be shaping up Palmer could set the market. I could see several teams ready to pony up first round draft picks and more to secure the services of Palmer. It seems ludicrous to not explore that and eventually get a deal done.
Next on the list for the Bengals is to figure out what to do about their running back situation. They did draft Jay Finley in the seventh round this year, but both Cedric Benson and Brian Leonard are set to be free agents. I think they let Benson go and resign Leonard. They would like to add a big power back to give them insurance in the many cold weather games this team will play but we don’t know if there will be one of those available yet.
This team also has to sort out what to do about their Wide Out Corps. Terrell Owens and Matt Jones are both free agents, and they may be ready to distance themselves for Chad Johnson or whatever his name is these days. They did draft Ryan Whalen this year and have Jordan Shipley and Jerome Simpson, but they could need a big play guy,
Related Links:
- Cincinnati Bengals news and notes
- Joshua Lobdell.com