A strong indication could be forming that the Bengals could be the winners in the T.J. Houshmandzadeh sweepstakes. Our first one, is a stretch. He returned home to Los Angeles without anything announced with Minnesota. That could mean anything, in truth. However, without an announced deal, returning home to the West Coast could mean that he's looking at Seattle. That's very much conjecture.
Leaving Minnesota back home could also mean that Houshmandzadeh is signing with Cincinnati. Why schedule a press conference if you're re-signing with your old team? How many times have you seen a press conference for a player re-signing with his old team? Also of note, Carson Palmer and Chris Henry are working out together on the west coast, and you could conclude that Houshmandzadeh is letting Palmer know, while putting in the perceive hard work that sports fans like to see their athletes doing 24x7.
Then, PFT (via Twin Cities blog) had this blurb, a Houshmandzadeh quote.
"Ray (Lewis) spoke for all of us when he said, 'If you don't play less, you don't take less (money),'" Houshmandzadeh said. "I'm nervous about leaving Cincinnati. It will be a huge adjustment, like being a rookie all over again. Moving, getting to know everyone, learning a new team, new players, new coaches, new system -- I can see why guys would take less to stay. But if I have to make a choice between the best team and the best money? I'm not stupid, man. I'll take the money."
It's very unclear who offered Houshmandzadeh the most money. There's points that Cincinnati made the best offer, but it might be for the most money annually -- aka, better signing bonus, additional length to the deal. However, it's believed that Minnesota and Seattle offered the most money.
Keep in mind, all of this is conjecture. But I believe that we can safely throw out the "competitive" argument that he made earlier about wanting to leave Cincinnati. The best part about knowing which deal he's going to sign, is that we'll be able to get back to business.