The Bengals went the veteran route last year in free agency, signing Laveranues Coles to a big deal. Bob Glauber of Newsday writes they “regret” that move, and don’t plan to make the same mistake again.
The idea of Terrell Owens joining Chad Ochocinco was good for a few headlines and Twitter followers for Ocho, but it was never realistic. Glauber tweets that a source familiar with Bengals’ situation says there are no plans to sign T.O.
(Glauber made similar comments last week, but Newsday is mostly behind a pay wall now, so we’ll give him all the help he can get.)
The second thoughts about Coles aren’t surprising after his lackluster season, although Marvin Lewis supported him recently. It sounds like Coles will be with the team in training camp.
The Bengals regret could mirror how T.J. Houshmandzadeh feels after leaving for Seattle when he had a similar deal on the table from Cincinnati. The Bengals overpaid for Coles, and Housh wound up unhappy in Seattle.
Some trades are described as “win-win” but that chain of events ended up as a lose-lose for everyone involved. Except Coles.