Report: Darren McFadden to Bengals Not Happening

The Bengals aren't signing running back Darren McFadden, according to Marc Sessler of NFL.com after he spoke to an NFL agent at the scouting combine:

But it won't happen. That's what one agent told us at the NFL Scouting Combine. Too bad for McFadden, because his best season came in 2010 under Hue Jackson, the new Bengals offensive coordinator who found a way to unleash the back during their time together in Oakland.

New Bengals offensive coordinator Hue Jackson has gushed over McFadden this offseason, and sounded like he'd like another chance to coach McFadden after working with him in Oakland:

"You guys know how I feel about Darren McFadden; he’s still one of my favorite players," Jackson said this offseason, via Paul Gutierrez of ESPN.com.  "What a tremendous talent. But I really like my little guy Gio [Bernard].  He had a real good season.  But I don’t think you can ever have too many good backs."

After six seasons in Oakland, McFadden's time with the Raiders appears as though it's coming to an end. He likely won't get the kind of contract a starting RB would get, even though he's shown the potential to be a star when he's healthy.

Jackson spent just two seasons with the Raiders as their OC and head coach, but they were two of McFadden's best as he notched 11 rushing touchdowns, four receiving touchdowns and 2,432 total yards of offense in 20 games. It's easy to see why McFadden would want to come to Cincinnati, but the interest does not appear to be mutual.

It seems like adding McFadden to a backfield with Giovani Bernard would make for one of the more explosive backfields in the NFL, but it appears that is nothing more than a pipe dream with BenJarvus Green-Ellis already on the roster and a young back like Rex Burkhead perhaps waiting in the wings to replace him eventually.