Former Cowboys center Phil Costa signs with Colts; Bengals had interest

UPDATE

Nope.....Not happening.

Colts sign C Phil Costa. They were rumored to be in the Alex Mack "sweepstakes". Looks like Browns may win that game of chicken.

— P. Schrager (@PSchrags) March 13, 2014

We signed center Phil Costa from Dallas. Try to contain your excitement. #colts

— Pep sHamilton (@Peps_Playbook) March 13, 2014

#colts signed Phil Costa to 2-year, $2.7 mill contract. Can go to $3.5 mill if he hits play-time incentives.

— Mike Chappell (@mchappell51) March 13, 2014

With Costa now off the market, there aren't a lot of options at center. Evan Dietrich-Smith, Brian De La Puente and Alex Mack are still out there, but they figure to be asking for more than the Bengals are willing to pay.

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The Cincinnati Bengals will host former Dallas Cowboys center Phil Costa this Friday, according to Aaron Wilson with the Baltimore Sun. Costa has already visited with the New England Patriots, Detroit Lions and is scheduled to chat with the Indianapolis Colts on Thursday.

Dallas released Costa last month to clear $1.5 million in cap space because he had refused to take a pay cut. According to Brandon George with the Dallas Morning News, the Cowboys began re-thinking his release once the league announced a $10 million jump in the 2014 salary cap.

After starting a full 16-game season in 2011, Costa suffered a back injury and dislocated ankle, essentially killing his season after only a few games. He was demoted to a reserve role behind first-round rookie Travis Frederick last season.

When Costa, who can also play guard, was a regular starter in 2011, Pro Football Focus gave him a -9.3 grade that year (nearly six points less than Cook during that same year). On the other hand, Costa's three starts in 2012 earned him a +4.6.

Cincinnati released Kyle Cook, their starting center since 2009, on Tuesday and lost starting offensive tackle Anthony Collins to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Jason Marcum contributed to this report.