The Bengals have released 25-year old cornerback Morgan Trent.  Trent played in 8 games for the Bengals last year and he had 26 tackles, 3 passes defensed, 1 fumble recovery and 1 interception.  He played in 24 games in his first two years with the Bengals and he had 54 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery, 1 interception and he defensed 7 passes.  The Bengals will try to upgrade the depth they have at corner.

The Bengals have released 29-year old DE Antwan Odom.  Odom played in 4 games for the Bengals last year and he had 4 tackles and he defensed 1 pass.  Odom played in 22 games in his three years with the Bengals and he had 49 tackles, 11 sacks, 2 tackles for a loss and he defensed 5 passes.  Odom was a really solid player for the Bengals when he was healthy, but that just wasn’t enough to warrant them keeping him in 2011.

The Bengals have re-signed 27-year old RB Brian Leonard to a 2-year deal.  Leonard played in 11 games (0 starts) for the Bengals last year and he carried the ball 9 times for 61 yards (6.8 ypc).  He also caught 20 passes for 137 yards (6.9 avg) with 1 TD grab last year.  Leonard has played in 25 games (1 start) in his first two years with the Bengals and he has carried the ball 36 times for 245 yards (4.0 ypc).  He has also caught 50 passes for 354 yards (7.1 avg) with 1 TD grab for the Bengals.  The Bengals just love the style of play of Leonard and he plays hard every down.

The Bengals have signed 28-year old linebacker Thomas Howard to a 2-year, $6.5 million dollar deal.  Howard played in 12 games for the Raiders last year and he had 9 tackles, 1 forced fumble and he defensed 1 pass.  He has now played in 76 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has 390 tackles, 26 tackles for a loss, 4 sacks, 4 forced fumbles, 1 fumble recovery, 24 passes defensed and 7 interceptions (2 returned for TDs).  Howard is a solid player when he’s healthy and he should help out the Bengals’ run defense a little bit in 2011.

The Bengals have dealt 33-year old WR Chad Ocho Cinco to the Patriots for a 5th round pick in 2012 and a 6th round pick for 2013.  Ocho Cinco played in 14 games (12 starts) for the Bengals last year and he caught 67 passes for 831 yards (12.4 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  He played in 151 games (132 starts) in his 10 years with the Bengals and he caught 751 passes for 10,783 yards (14.4 avg) with 66 TD grabs.  He also carried the ball 24 times for 175 yards (7.3 ypc) for the Bengals.  Ocho Cinco made it to 6 Pro Bowls in his 10 years with the Bengals and he is also the all-time franchise leader in receiving yards (10,783) and receiving TDs (66).  Ocho Cinco’s off the field antics likely led to this deal as the Bengals didn’t get a fair deal with the Patriots.

The Bengals have signed 28-year old QB Bruce Gradkowski to a 2-year deal.  Gradkowski played in 6 games (4 starts) for the Raiders last year and he completed 83 of 157 passes (52.9%) for 1,059 yards with 5 TD passes and 7 INTs (66.3 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 12 times for 41 yards (3.4 ypc) last year.  Gradkowski has now played in 32 games (20 starts) in his first five years in the NFL and he has completed 362 of 680 passes (53.2%) for 3,883 yards with 20 TD passes and 23 INTs (65.9 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 79 times for 332 yards (4.2 ypc) in his NFL career.  Gradkowski is 6-14 (30%) as a starting QB in the NFL, so the Bengals better hope that rookie Andy Dalton stays healthy this year.

Running back Pete Johnson was like a bowling ball with legs for the Bengals as he was a pure power runner.  His best season with the Bengals came back in 1981 when he made the only Pro Bowl of his NFL career.  He played in 16 games (all starts) for the Bengals last year and he carried the ball 274 times for 1,077 yards (3.9 ypc) with 12 TD runs.  He also caught 46 passes for 320 yards (7.0 avg) with 4 TD grabs for the Bengals.  It was Johnson’s only season in which he ran for over 1,000 yards.  Johnson played in 94 games in his seven years with the Bengals and he carried the ball 1,402 times for 5,421 yards (3.9 ypc) with 64 TD runs.  He also caught 173 passes for 1,327 yards (7.7 avg) with 6 TD grabs for the Bengals.  Pete Johnson is the Bengals’ all-time leader in TD runs with 64 and he also in #4 in rushing yards (5,421) in franchise history.