Kevin Huber announced via Twitter on Friday that he has re-signed with the Bengals after agreeing to a five-year deal which will keep him in Cincinnati for the foreseeable future.

Happy to announce I will be sticking around cincy for another 5 years! @bengals #whodey

— Kevin Huber (@khuber10) March 8, 2013

According to Ian Rapaport, Huber's contract will pay him an average of $2.8 million per year with $6 million being payed out in the first two seasons of the contract.

Huber, a local Cincinnati product who punted in college for the University of Cincinnati, had a good year in 2012. He punted 76 times, averaging 46.6 yards per punt, a career high. Of those punts, 33 of them pinned teams back inside their own 20-yard lines while only seven were touchbacks. Pro Football Focus rated him as the 11th best punter in the NFL in 2012, giving him an overall grade of 21.2.

A good punter is essential to any team, especially a team with a good defense. Winning the field position is huge, especially when playing in the AFC North, and with the Bengals' defense, the Bengals could play on a short field through the majority of any game they play.

The Bengals have several free agents that they'll look to re-sign before and after the new league year begins on March 12, including Adam Jones, Thomas Howard, Terence Newman, Andre Smith and others. It's good to see they got things started, though. And it's good to know that Huber will be back in stripes in 2013.