July 15th is the deadline in which players with the franchise tag are allowed to sign long-term deals. Negotiations continue with Shayne Graham; two weeks remain if the two sides want to settle on a deal that last beyond this season. Otherwise, it's a one-year deal and unrestricted free agency.

The Bengals have the worst uniform, writes Paul Lukas. If there's a more meaningless waste of our time, please let us know. Fashion rankings in the NFL. Sad day for fans of the best sport in the world when we start gossiping about girly things. Moving on.

The USA Today is doing a series that explores the history of ten AFL Franchises in celebration of the league's 50th anniversary. Today? The Cincinnati Bengals and Paul Brown.

Understand, Paul Brown — who led the Browns to seven titles beginning with their AAFC inception in 1946 and entered the Hall of Fame in 1967 — remains an NFL icon and innovator. Face masks on helmets, racial integration, innovative plays — you name it, he did it.

Joe Reedy lists the ESPN Fan Rankings 122 professional franchises in North America -- the Bengals were ranked 118th. Far it be from me to have fans who, for all we know, have never stepped foot in the great (and broke) state of Ohio, to actually have a say on how other teams should be ranked. That would be like us ranking the Dolphins. Or the Clippers.

Dan Skuta is a linebacker -- who we spoke briefly about when the team signed undrafted free agents -- said he feels he'll make an impact with the Bengals (h/t to reader Patrick for the link).

I'm gonna make an impact on special teams right away. You never know what can happen ... I've talked to guys who started the season on the practice squad then ended up starting by the end of the season, so I'll be ready.

AHN's Matthew Harvey writes that Andre Smith will attend training camp; whether he signs or not, saying "while contract negotiations continue, he plans to attend training camp." Right.

Dave, on the other hand, reasonably points out that a holdout could easily be avoided. I agree. It could be. I just don't believe it's likely. Matt says a holdout is coming.

Competition at safety will be very strong. Roy Williams isn't here just to play. He's here to be the best.

“I want to be the best and will take that onto the practice field,” Williams said during the recent minicamp. “I’m going to compete and whatever I do I will try to do at a high velocity. I see all the other guys are like that as well. The competition is great and we will have a great team because everyone is competing for the same jobs and that’s a good thing.”

Scout Inc ranks the Bengals 24th in their recent power rankings.

Adam Hasenmayer ranks running back packages in his latest positional power rankings. The Bengals group led by Cedric Benson ranks 28th.

It remains a mystery to T.J. Houshmandzadeh that when you have confidence, you perform better. Really? Sorry. Houshmandzadeh to me is like a bad breakup after a long relationship. I'm being picky.

Michael Johnson is contributing to Bengals.com while at the rookie symposium. He was really taken in by Willie Brown's stories, which mostly dealt with racism in the 60s. However, one thing you learn is that even though rookies in the NFL seem larger than life, they really are just kids.

"It went fast, but it didn't bother me because I'm kind of a penny pincher," Johnson says. "Actually, I've got less money now than I did last year. In college, everything is pretty much provided for. But now this is the first time I've had to pay rent, buy food, figure out what the utilities are going to be."