Bengals won't re-sign T.J. Houshmandzadeh after 2008?

by Kirkendall on May 7, 2008 9:50 AM EDT in Contracts Comment 8 comments

Bengals head coach admitted to our biggest fan, Peter King, why the Bengals are restocking wide receivers. It's not just Chad Johnson threatening to sit out. It's not just the Bengals cutting Chris Henry after his fifth arrest. It's also a likelihood that the Bengals might not be able to sign T.J. Houshmandzadeh after his contract is up this season.

"T.J.'s at the end of his contract this year,'' Lewis said, "and I don't know if it's possible to re-sign him. Chad says he won't play without a trade. We just have to be prepared for anything this year, and for the future.''

We've spoken at length this off-season when Chad Johnson's career suicide campaign begun after the season was over. Once Chris Henry was cut, and Chad Johnson being, well, Chad, we figured that T.J. could be another departed because his deal will be up after the season and we're sure that the Bengals wouldn't pay the value that T.J. believes he'd deserve. And who can blame T.J. for wanting to try the free agent market. He's getting older and this will likely be his final chance at a big-time contract that we know the Bengals won't hand out.

We wonder though if the team doesn't intend to sign T.J. for different reasons, but similar to Chad Johnson, after "league sources" surfaced that Chad and T.J. were trying to run the team even shouting at mega-messiah, Carson Palmer. The Pro Football Talk guys wrote in mid-December:

A league source tells us that there is growing animosity in the Bengals locker room toward receivers Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh.

Per the source, both are yelling "all the time" at quarterback Carson Palmer, but coach Marvin Lewis doesn't say or do anything about it. Players are also upset that the two receivers are trying to "run the team."

The situation reminds us of the latter days of the Denny Green era in Minnesota, where receivers Cris Carter and Randy Moss were berating quarterback Daunte Culpepper and operating under a separate set of rules.

I'm not saying one way or another, but we do wonder.

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I remember that story..

...that is why I don’t like the whole T.J. “good cop” Chad “bad cop” dichotomy. If Simpson and Caldwell look like they are going to pan out, I am sure Housh is gone. Don’t get me wrong, he is a very good receiver, but we’d be crazy to shell out $35 mil+ in a long term contract to a 31 year old reciever with chronic injury problems.

by goffchile on May 7, 2008 10:05 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I agree...

I don’t think TJ will get resigned. There are several top tier receivers that are in the last year of their contracts so after this season I wouldn’t be surprised if TJ walks and the Bengals pick up a free agent to lead their young guys.

by bluewolf021 on May 7, 2008 11:46 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

TJ is getting on my nerves too.

Take a look at the “update” story at bengals.com, in which TJ moans about whether or not he ought to show up for voluntary workouts. Now, I understand that voluntaries are voluntary, but TJ signed a contract, too, right? He knew where his job was and where his family was and that the two weren’t going to be close…so why the “dilemma”? Either show up or don’t, and no need to turn the decision into another public offseason sideshow.

TJ’s playing passive to Chad’s aggressive, and it looks to me like Marvin knows the score.

by BeerRun on May 7, 2008 11:50 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Telling point

I just can’t get past the whole Chad and T.J. are best friends not to think that T.J is in the same mindset playing differing approaches. Good cop, bad cop. Passive, aggressive.

Blogger at CincyJungle.com

by Kirkendall on May 7, 2008 1:49 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I know

I have the exact same feeling.

by BeerRun on May 7, 2008 2:37 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

so long, farewell, auf wiedersehn, etc.

First off, I don’t think we’re gonna want to sign TJ for any kind of #1 receiver money because he isn’t one. The only reason he’ll be one this season is by default and due to experience. He’s solid but not spectacular, quick but not gamebreaker fast, and he may end up cursing Chad for putting him in a position he’s not cut out for- and costing him money indirectly. No one on the open market is going to pay TJ Larry Fitzgerald- or even Chad, money next season. I might even consider running Simpson or Caldwell out there as #1 depending on how they develop.

Secondly, can we just get rid of Chad once and for all? I want the whole thing over and that can only happen by trading him. Waiting to see if he’ll show up and, if so, how he’ll be when he does, is a fool’s errand. And does anyone honestly think that Chad Johnson holding out won’t be a big story so long as he does- or that he’ll be a quiet little camper while he’s away? It still disgusts me that the Bengals didn’t pull the trigger on that Washington deal. He’d be gone and, though his cap hit might be a problem in the short term, we wouldn’t ever have to mention him again. Except maybe to laugh at his desiccated numbers with Campbell at the helm.

Finally, this kind of bullshit- the disgruntled star behaving in any number of ways detrimental to team cohesion and morale, happens here far too often for it to be a mere coincidence. There was a brief glimmer of hope when Marvin was first hired, a honeymoon of good feelings and optimism that lasted just about two seasons before subsiding under the weight of the Keystone Kops-style Brown family stewardship. As much as I want Chad gone, I want Mike Brown and his family to back off, hire a GM that knows what he’s doing- Floyd Reese, anyone?- and skulk back under the rocks they initially crawled out from under. I mean, without for a moment condoning the antics of Chad or Corey or Carl or Takeo, I can at least imagine the Sisyphean atmosphere that permeates this regime taking it’s toll on a man’s sanity.

by IgnatiusJReilly on May 7, 2008 6:53 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs