.........
" Do you think the Bengals are finished this offseason? There were rumors about Rod Hood visiting, but nothing new has been reported since. Roy Williams, Tank Johnson and Brian Leonard didn't even add $2 million in payroll, and there are some serious holes yet to be filled. Do you see them going out and getting another free agent? --Ben W., Delaware, OH"

BEN: Actually, Rams running back Brian Leonard cost nothing because his salary was pretty much a wash against the pay for defensive tackle Orien Harris, his trading partner. But they are probably done even though they did have Hood, the former Eagles and Cardinals cornerback, in for a visit a couple of weeks ago.

It sounds like the Bengals dropped out of a bidding war. Not that it's an unreasonable number, but the Bengals have been saying they consider themselves tight against the $127 million cap. The way they look at it, they've still got to pay $6 million in a rookie pool. Plus, about another $5-6 million in incentives and injuries in a year those numbers can't be spilled into the '10 cap. For instance, last year's No. 1 pick, Keith Rivers, alone has an incentive of $3 million.

Unless somebody they absolutely had to have becomes available, it's hard to see them signing anybody else much over the minimum.






Salary Cap Space
Posted by Mike Florio


Arizona Cardinals: $1.29 million.

Atlanta Falcons: $23.67 million.

Baltimore Ravens: $968,000.

Buffalo Bills: $11.82 million.

Carolina Panthers: $2.69 million.

Chicago Bears: $20.96 million.

Cincinnati Bengals: $16.26 million.

Cleveland Browns: $20.27 million.



YOU GO HOBKNOB WE CAN'T AFFORD ANOTHER 1.5 MILL

But...but...but... what if MikeyBoy needs to give himself a performance bonus? Will there be enough?