With all of this talk about which wide receiver the Bengals will sign (or both if the front office is really good... heh), I thought it would be a good time to update the "young receiver that only wants to play for the Bengals" file. A fan, or fans, created a new fan page that asks the Bengals to draft outstanding UC Bearcats receiver Mardy Gilyard.
While I think the likelihood the Bengals will draft Gilyard in the first round is still (at best) remote, if the receiver drops to later rounds, it could go from remote to possible, with the known issues that this team is facing at the position -- especially in the long term.
Even so, Marvin Lewis has spoken out about giving Jerome Simpson another chance this season and the Bengals could have a pair of veteran receivers starting, much like last year. And I highly doubt that the team will give up on Andre Caldwell, who keeps showing signs of progress (at least that's what people tell me) and now needs to show a bit more consistency and an ability to break away from coverages. Not saying it's impossible. But I believe that the Bengals will use their higher draft picks to address other positions that can help them sooner rather than later. Like safety. Or fullback. Or tight end. Or linebacker. A drafted wide receiver would, at best, be the team's fourth receiver. At worst, he'll be the next Jerome Simpson.
I really like Gilyard. But if he doesn't fall in the NFL Draft, I doubt the Bengals will be the one's drafting him.
No deal. Or the waiting game. Antonio Bryant has left the Bengals without a reported deal. This can mean a variety of things. With a scheduled visit for Washington, Bryant could be looking at both deals and see what's best for him. Furthermore, he could be the number one receiver in Washington whereas he's Chad's shadow in Cincinnati. Not that it matters. When Houshmandzadeh was with the Bengals, his numbers were just as good as if he were a number one receiver.
This could also mean that Bryant isn't interested or the Bengals didn't offer him a deal. Either way, we can either read too much into it or just shrug our shoulders. Either way, we'll know more later.
Baker is in demand on the west coast ( geographical location; not style of offense). Since Chris Baker reportedly was visiting Cincinnati on Monday, we've literally heard nothing about him. We can assume that the meeting still took place on Monday and we can assume that since today is not Monday, that he left Cincinnati without a contract offer. Cincinnati isn't the only team interested in Baker. Writes Jason La Canfora, "Baker is set to visit the 49ers and Seahawks this week." UPDATE: Baker didn't come in Monday and will be in next week.