With Roy Williams playing on a one-year deal after having played only seven of the past 36 games that his teams have played, the Bengals are left with Chris Crocker (signed through the 2012 season) and Chinedum Ndukwe, who will be a free agent after this year. After that, it's Tom Nelson, Kyries Hebert and Rico Murray.

So the conventional wisdom is that the Bengals will likely look at a safety in April during the NFL Draft.

One safety that Carlos Holmes likes is former tOSU Buckeye Kurt Coleman. Furthermore, Coleman would like to play for the Bengals.

“I think one of their requirements is to fulfill a need of having a versatile defensive back,” he said. “If they’re looking for a strong safety that can support the run and make plays in coverage, I’m their guy.

“It would be great to play in Cincinnati. My entire family are big Bengal fans. It would present them with an opportunity to come watch me play on Sundays. That would be a great thing to have. I would love to play in that defense because they do a lot of things I love doing. It would be a tremendous honor to be picked by the Bengals.”

Holmes writes that "Coleman is projected as a late second- or third-round choice" with three teams known to have interest -- New England, Cleveland and Cincinnati.