It's generally believed that T.J. Houshmandzadeh won't be with the Cincinnati Bengals next season. First of all, I think the Bengals don't want another draft irrelevance like when they selected three wide receivers in 2008. Age is probably a concern, and who's to say that Houshmandzadeh wants to be in Cincinnati?

Monday's deadline for contract extensions means that if a deal is signed beforehand, then a significant portion against the cap could be applied to this season. If there's an extension signed afterwards, then only a portion of the money against the cap can be applied to 2008. Extensions can be signed through the Saturday of the final week in the regular season.

I believe this is a significant issue, because if they wanted to get a multi-year extension done, while not risking additional flexibility into the future, they have until Monday. Otherwise, the team could see themselves additionally managing high-dollar contracts within the offense allowing the defense to continuously be underpaid. I'm not talking about free agency; rather the potential of extending players they should retain in the next 2-3 seasons.