The Bengals announced Saturday the signing of Dave Rayner, specifically for kickoff duties after Shayne Graham suffered a groin injury on his kicking leg during the week. Graham is still expected to kick field goals and PATs.
As a result of the signing, the Bengals had to free up a roster spot on the 53-man roster. They waived fullback Reagan Maui'a; which is a good move. Maui'a was a hard hitter, however, he was often seen standing straight up taking on defenders, sometimes blocking in the wrong direction.
From the team's public relations (via Bengals.com)
The Bengals today made the following roster moves:
Signed free agent K Dave Rayner, a fourth-year NFL player from Michigan State. Rayner (6-2, 210) has 41 games of NFL experience, having played with Indianapolis in 2005, Green Bay in 2006 and Kansas City and San Diego in 2007. He has made 41 of 58 field goal attempts (70.7 percent), with a long of 54 yards, and he is 45-of-46 on PATs. He also has 15 touchbacks on 41 career kickoffs.
Rayner became a free agent for 2008 when his San Diego contract expired with no qualifying offer. He was signed and later released by Miami in June, and signed with Detroit on Aug. 9. He played in preseason games two and three with Detroit, going seven-for-eight on field goals and five-for-five on PATs. He was released by the Lions on Aug. 26.
Waived FB Reagan Mauia, second-year player from Hawaii. Mauia signed with the Bengals as a free agent on Sept. 3. He was inactive for Games 1-2 and 5, and started at FB in Games 3-4 (no statistics).