Bengals center Kyle Cook is expected to head to Injured Reserve this Tuesday. By designating him a player to return later, Cincinnati fulfills the requirements that allows them to bring Cook back later in the season. However the position is somewhat dominated by uncertainty. Trevor Robinson, an undrafted free agent rookie, appears to have decent upside, playing well during the first quarter against the Colts on Thursday.

Regardless the team quickly sought the veteran solution, perhaps to limit the impact of having two rookie offensive linemen, signing veteran free agent Jeff Faine.

According to NFL.com, Faine signed a one-year deal with a maximum value of $2.25 million in 2012. With a base salary worth $1.4 million along and a $100,000 signing bonus, Faine will earn an additional $31,250 per game on the active 46-man gameday roster (amounts to $500,000 for a full season) with an additional $250,000 in incentives.

Obviously this deal somewhat protects the Cincinnati Bengals because if Cook's injury turns out to be less severe, they can limit the amount they're spending on Faine. But it's not by much.