Wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh appears as though he will become a free agent with the team opting to place its franchise tag on place-kicker Shayne Graham.
"We will also continue to talk with several of our other pending free agents in an ongoing attempt to re-sign them," coach Marvin Lewis said. "Some will want to test their value in the market, and we of course will look at the market for possible new players. But as I've said before, the best value for all sides tends to be when a team re-signs its own key free agents, and we will make every attempt to re-sign the players we consider most important for 2009."
Graham tag brings a one-year tender offer of $2.48 million - the average of the five highest paid kickers last season.
"I appreciate the Bengals' recognition of my value to the team," Graham said in a statement. "I would have preferred to enter a long-term market value contract, either with the Bengals or through free agency. The team said it will continue to negotiate on a long-term contract.
Houshmandzadeh has had three straight seasons of 90 receptions or more. He led the Bengals last season with 92 catches for 904 yards and four touchdowns. In 2007, he tied for the league lead in receptions with 112 for 1,143 yards and 12 TDs. Over the past couple weeks he has appeared on radio talk shows in Chicago and Philadelphia. The Bears and Eagles would love to have a receiver of his caliber.
Should he return to the team, Houshmandzadeh is hoping the Bengals can turn things around after going 4-11-1 last season.
"It's frustrating when everyone expects you to play well and you bust your (butt) in the offseason," Houshmandzadeh said. "We got some wins at the end of the season, but they were against some teams that were not very good. The only satisfaction that I got was that we were still working hard every week."
