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Sports TwitterBengals claim veteran kicker off waivers
More: Graham's injury not severe | Bengals team page
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
CINCINNATI — As expected, the Bengals signed a placekicker to help them get through Friday's 2007 preseason finale against the visiting Indianapolis Colts.
He's Aaron Elling, a fourth-year NFL veteran who was acquired off waivers from the Jacksonville Jaguars. Elling is expected to be in uniform today, practicing with the club from 1:40-3:30 p.m. at Paul Brown Stadium.
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The key question becomes: How long will Elling be here?
He's definitely a short-term fix, but he could become a longer-term answer depending on the severity of Shayne Graham's right hip injury.
If Graham's rehab goes well and he's healthy enough to kick in the Bengals' regular-season opener against the Baltimore Ravens on Sept. 10, the club likely will waive Elling on Saturday — "Cutdown Day" — when rosters get sliced to the NFL-mandated 53-player limit.
However, if Graham can't answer the bell against Baltimore, the club will be forced to keep Elling, causing the Bengals to cut a deserving position player on Saturday.
Here's another scenario to consider: If Elling performs poorly against Colts, the Bengals could cut him and sign another kicker before the nationally televised regular-season opener against the visiting Ravens.
Elling — a 6-foot-2, 201-pounder from the University of Wyoming — has kicked for Minnesota, Tennessee and Baltimore, with 19 field goals in 28 attempts over 33 games. He also has 144 career kickoffs.
Elling entered the NFL in 2002 as a college free agent with Seattle, but was released before the regular season. In 2003, he signed with Minnesota and kicked in 16 games, scoring 102 points on 18-of-25 field goals and 48-of-48 extra-point kicks.
He saw action primarily on kickoffs in '04 and '05, logging eight games with Tennessee and Minnesota in '04, and nine games with Baltimore in '05.
Elling was waived by Baltimore in '06 final cuts, and was signed earlier this year by Atlanta and later Jacksonville. He saw limited action in the preseason with the Jaguars, converting his only PAT, and was waived by Jacksonville on Monday.
