The Bengals have signed 29-year old WR Antonio Bryant to a 4-year, $28 million dollar deal.  Bryant played in 13 games for the Buccaneers last season in which he caught 39 passes for 600 yards (15.4 avg) with 4 TD grabs.  He has now played in 106 games in his NFL career in which he has caught 372 passes for 5,685 yards (15.3 avg) with 30 TD grabs.  Bryant has also carried the ball 11 times for 65 yards (5.9 ypc) in his career.  This was a solid signing for the Bengals giving them a legit receiver to take attention away from defensive backs who were ganging up on Chad Ocho Cinco all year long in 2009.

The Bengals have released 32-year old WR Laveranues Coles.  Coles played in all 16 games for the Bengals last season and he caught 43 passes for 514 yards (12.0 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  The Bengals saw enough out of Coles in one year to know that they didn’t want him around anymore.  Look for the Bengals to upgrade at WR in free agency or the draft.

After his 2008 season many people started to think that he was nearing the end of his career.  But, Ocho Cinco came back with a vengeance in 2009 for the Bengals.  He played in 16 with the Bengals last season and he caught 72 passes for 1,047 yards (14.5 avg) with 9 TD grabs.  He also carried the ball 3 times for 32 yards (10.7 ypc) last season.  Ocho Cinco has now played 9 years for the Bengals in which he has played in 137 games and caught 684 passes for 9,952 yards (14.6 avg) with 62 TD grabs.  Ocho Cinco has also carried the ball 24 times for 175 yards (7.3 ypc) in his career with the Bengals.  He has had at least 90 catches in a season 4 times for the Bengals and he has had at least 1,047 yards receiving 7 times in his career.  If the Bengals sign, draft or trade for a quality WR to play opposite of Ocho Cinco there is no reason to think that he can’t still play at a high level for the next couple of years.

27-year old Cedric Benson proved that he is the real deal last season for the Bengals.  He played in 13 games for the Bengals last season and he carried the ball 301 times for 1,251 yards (4.2 ypc) with 6 TD runs.  Benson also caught 17 passes for 111 yards (6.5 avg) last year for the Bengals.  Benson really has stepped up for the Bengals the last couple of years as he has paid them back for giving him another chance to be a feature back after failing for the Bears.  Benson has now played in 25 games (2 years) with the Bengals and he has carried the ball 515 times for 1,998 yards (3.9 ypc) with 8 TD runs.  Benson has also caught 37 passes for 296 yards (8.0 avg) for the Bengals.  Look for Benson to be the main man in the running game for the Bengals as long as he can stay healthy.

The Bengals have signed 27-year old kicker Dave Rayner.  Rayner last played in the NFL in 2008 with the Bengals.  He played in 2 games for the Bengals that year and he connected on his only field goal attempt and he also made all three of his extra point attempts to finish with 6 points.  Rayner has now played in 43 games in his NFL career and he has made 42 of 59 field goals (71.2%).  He has also made 48 of 49 extra point attempts in his NFL career as he has 174 points.  The handwriting appears on the wall for Shayne Graham who did not kick too well for the Bengals last season.