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Thursday, October 09, 2008
CINCINNATI — Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis dumped a bucket of ice water on a hot topic: the possible trade of wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh.
A story that surfaced on Tuesday, Oct. 7 — that the San Francisco 49ers could have interest in acquiring Houshmandzadeh from the Bengals before the Oct. 14 NFL trade deadline — got derailed before it gained any more steam.
"Boy, that's a bad rumor, huh?" Lewis said on Wednesday. "Number one, you're going to get a club in trouble for tampering. That club has already been penalized once this year, very harshly. (The 49ers forfeited their fifth-round draft pick in an NFL sanction for tampering with Chicago linebacker Lance Briggs.)
"Number two, what club in its right mind would trade for a player that's going to be an unrestricted free agent? Again, if you're going to start a rumor, make it a good one. OK? Make it something that makes some sense to people inside the NFL. It's unfortunate."
Houshmandzadeh, a 2007 Pro Bowler and the Bengals' most productive player in 2008 with 31 catches for 351 yards (an 11.3 average) and three touchdowns, was surprised to hear his name attached to a trade rumor.
"If it happens, which I doubt very seriously, I can't control that," he said. "I've got to play football. That's what I do. It's just good to know that people think I can play, that they would throw my name in something like that."
Houshmandzadeh's future with the Bengals is uncertain.
If they don't sign him to a multiyear contract, he could leave via free agency. He's also a candidate to be designated as the club's franchise player in 2009.
The franchise tag is designed to help a team retain the rights to a top player who reaches free agency. Franchise players are owed a one-year salary equal to the average of the top five players at his position from the previous year. This 2008 franchise tag for a wide receiver: $7.848 million.
"(Management) makes that decision," Houshmandzadeh said. "It's not under my control. Lord willing, I stay healthy and keep playing football, and everything will fall into place whether I like it or not."
Potential free agents
The contracts for eight Bengals veterans expire at the end of the 2008 season. Anyone not re-signed by the Bengals becomes an unrestricted free agent in the spring, free to sign with any NFL club:
Pos. | Player (Years in NFL)
OT | Stacy Andrews (5)
TB | Cedric Benson (4)
LB | Darryl Blackstock (4)
QB | Ryan Fitzpatrick (4)
C | Eric Ghiaciuc (4)
PK | Shayne Graham (8)
WR | T.J. Houshmandzadeh (8)
DT | John Thornton (10)
