Johnathan Joseph left the Bengals high and dry at the cornerback position after the 2010 season when he left for the Houston Texans in free agency. The Bengals replaced him with the aging Nate Clements, who did a decent job, but compared to Joseph's pro-bowl season, he wasn't nearly as good. It's clear heading into the 2012 season that cornerback is a major position of need.

Enter Jason Allen, who the Bengals signed on Saturday after they announced the signing of guard Travelle Wharton. According to Bengals.com's Geoff Hobson, one of the big reasons the Bengals were able to land the former Dolphins and Texans cornerback was because of Joseph's kind words about the team's head coach and defensive coordinator.

Allen isn't a suitable replacement for Joseph, the Bengals will need to turn to the draft to find that, but it's nice to see that Joseph thinks highly enough of Marvin Lewis and Mike Zimmer to urge a former teammate to sign with the Bengals. Allen could possibly start and will likely be at least the team's third or fourth cornerback when the season starts, which will largely depend on Leon Hall's health and whether or not the team drafts a corner in the first round of the draft.

Either way, some extra depth at the cornerback position is always welcome in Cincinnati.

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