Bengals head coach admitted to our biggest fan, Peter King, why the Bengals are restocking wide receivers. It's not just Chad Johnson threatening to sit out. It's not just the Bengals cutting Chris Henry after his fifth arrest. It's also a likelihood that the Bengals might not be able to sign T.J. Houshmandzadeh after his contract is up this season.

"T.J.'s at the end of his contract this year,'' Lewis said, "and I don't know if it's possible to re-sign him. Chad says he won't play without a trade. We just have to be prepared for anything this year, and for the future.''

We've spoken at length this off-season when Chad Johnson's career suicide campaign begun after the season was over. Once Chris Henry was cut, and Chad Johnson being, well, Chad, we figured that T.J. could be another departed because his deal will be up after the season and we're sure that the Bengals wouldn't pay the value that T.J. believes he'd deserve. And who can blame T.J. for wanting to try the free agent market. He's getting older and this will likely be his final chance at a big-time contract that we know the Bengals won't hand out.

We wonder though if the team doesn't intend to sign T.J. for different reasons, but similar to Chad Johnson, after "league sources" surfaced that Chad and T.J. were trying to run the team even shouting at mega-messiah, Carson Palmer. The Pro Football Talk guys wrote in mid-December:

A league source tells us that there is growing animosity in the Bengals locker room toward receivers Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh.

Per the source, both are yelling "all the time" at quarterback Carson Palmer, but coach Marvin Lewis doesn't say or do anything about it. Players are also upset that the two receivers are trying to "run the team."

The situation reminds us of the latter days of the Denny Green era in Minnesota, where receivers Cris Carter and Randy Moss were berating quarterback Daunte Culpepper and operating under a separate set of rules.

I'm not saying one way or another, but we do wonder.

An interesting observation made in a recent Chick Ludwig piece suggests that the Bengals might be shifting their offense to a spread-like offense (while Palmer remains under center instead of shotgun) to help open up the running game.

Lewis' hope is that, by spreading the field with three and four wide receivers, running lanes will be created for tailbacks Rudi Johnson, Kenny Watson, Chris Perry and DeDe Dorsey; and maybe, just maybe, Seattle Seahawks' career rushing leader Shaun Alexander

Andre Caldwell came from a similar, multiple wide receiver formation at Florida. In 2005, the Bengals had a great system of three tremendously talented wide receivers, the peak of Rudi Johnson's effectiveness, a receiver type back out of the backfield in Chris Perry and a talented offensive line that's since seen Eric Steinbach and Rich Braham leave.

Assuming that all three drafted receivers sign, the Bengals wide receiver roster looks like this (in no particular order):

• Chad Johnson
• T.J. Houshmandzadeh
• Doug Gabriel
• Andre Caldwell
• Jerome Simpson
• Glenn Holt
• Marcus Maxwell
• Antonio Chatman
• Mario Urrutia

Assuming that the team takes six receivers -- and assuming that the team will have Johnson (assuming he doesn't sit out and not traded), Houshmandzadeh, Simpson and Caldwell -- which two receivers would the team keep? Your choices are:

Gabriel
Holt
Maxwell
Chatman
Urrutia

Just a quick follow up to the T.J. Houshmandzadeh post we wrote. We figured his comments were a bit sour after the team drafted three wide receivers in a Geoff Hobson piece. The poll associated with the post, for the most part, didn't think that T.J. was being sour and that we were just simply reading into it way too much. Thanks, Chad for our heightened suspicion of things.

This NFL Network interview with T.J. reflecting on the draft made note that Marvin Lewis came to Houshmandzadeh before the draft to let him know that the team was drafting a few receivers. Of all things, however, it doesn't seem that T.J. is anything but T.J. He doesn't appear frustrated that contract talks are slowing or how the Bengals are dealing with Chad Johnson -- though T.J. did say that Chad isn't a leader. Which we kinda knew already.

Did anyone get the sense that T.J. Houshmandzadeh is also sour about the team drafting three wide receivers?

"Those two guys have made the team; that's no debate," Houshmandzadeh said. "Everyone else is fighting for a job. Me and Chad (Johnson)—if he's there—included. They drafted those guys high and they expect them to play."

Perhaps he's being diplomatic about leaving Cincinnati after this contract season.

"Maybe if there were talks, I would. But I'm not worried about it. I'm not thinking about it. I've got one year left. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn't, it doesn't."

"The competition will be good. Simpson and Caldwell have made the team and it's going to come down to three or four others."

Nice. T.J. is including himself of those three or four that will be fighting for job at wide receiver.

Bengals offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski doesn't think there's a message sent to T.J. as Houshmandzadeh might interpret.

"We went from a very strong and deep group to a group that we were able to replenish with these guys," offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski said. "I don't think it's necessarily a message to T.J. [Houshmandzadeh] or any of these guys. We needed depth at that position."

Alright, so maybe it's nothing.