After signing Matt Jones, Bengals may have lost interest with Donte Stallworth

So there's this wide receiver that's available. He's caught 50 or more passes twice in his seven NFL seasons. He's only played a full season in three seasons. He's averaging over four receiving touchdowns a season and has only one season of 800 yards receiving or more. There's production there. Sure. But is that elite enough that it couldn't be found elsewhere?

On Thursday, Joe Reedy wrote that the Bengals were "expected to have interest" in Donte Stallworth. After the Bengals signed Matt Jones to a one-year deal around $700,000, Joe Reedy wrote the next day:

Matt Jones signing also means one other thing – any interest in Dante Stallworth is gone. Stallworth, who was released by Cleveland on Monday after being reinstated by NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, could make for a good deep threat for some teams, but questions about his durability and accountability will require due diligence.

Not just that. But as we pointed out above, Stallworth doesn't provide much more than above average numbers. And we find it hard to believe that the Bengals can't find the production, if they're still looking at free agency and/or the draft, that Stallworth could provide.

However, I also don't mind that the Bengals are looking in spots for talent that other teams dare not. This is a results driven business. And if you can find talent on the cheap, and they produce -- aka, Cedric Benson, Tank Johnson, Bernard Scott, Chris Henry after being re-signed and to some degree Frostee Rucker -- then the Bengals stand more to gain than they do lose.