The Bengals have signed 33-year old CB Terence Newman to a 1-year deal.  Newman played in 14 games for the Cowboys last year and he had 53 tackles, 8 passes defensed, 4 interceptions (one returned for a TD), 1 tackle for a loss and 1 fumble recovery.  Newman has now played in 133 games in his first 9 years in the NFL and he has 542 tackles, 124 passes defensed, 32 interceptions (3 returned for TDs), 25 sacks, 5 fumble recoveries, 7 forced fumbles and 18 tackles for a loss.  Newman showed last year for the Cowboys that he has plenty left in the gas tank, so I really like this signing for the Bengals.

The Bengals have re-signed 29-year old OT Dennis Roland.  Roland played in 16 games (3 starts) for the Bengals last year.  He has now played in 50 games (28 starts) in his first four years with the Bengals.  This was a good move to re-sign Roland as he will give the Bengals solid depth on the outside of the O-Line in 2012.

The Bengals have dealt 25-year old linebacker Keith Rivers to the New York Giants for the last pick of the 5th round of the 2012 NFL Draft.  Rivers played in 15 games for the Bengals last year and he had 77 tackles, 1 sack, 2 passes defensed and 5 tackles for a loss.  He played in 35 games in his three years with the Bengals and he had 186 tackles, 2 sacks, 9 tackles for a loss, 1 forced fumble, 5 passes defensed and 2 interceptions.  The Bengals expected more production out of Rivers and that is why they dealt him today.

The Cincinnati Bengals have been one of the most active teams in the NFL so far this off-season.  They have re-signed 11 of their own players as well as 7 new free agents already.  Here is a look at the moves so far:

Offensively:  The Bengals have decided to add to the interior of the O-Line as they have signed guards Travelle Wharton and Jacob Bell.  They have also re-signed OT Anthony Collins to help out on the O-Line.  The Bengals also signed RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis and he will take over as the new featured RB in the offense.  The Bengals have also signed RB Aaron Brown and they have re-signed RB Cedric Peerman and FB Chris Pressley to give them depth in the backfield.

Defensively:  The Bengals have also been busy on D.  They have re-signed DTs Pat Sims and Nick Harden to help on the interior of the D in 2012.  They have also signed DEs Derrick Harvey and Jamaal Anderson, with the hope that they can help them amp up the pass rush a little bit in 2012.  The Bengals have brought back OLB Manny Lawson and LB Vincent Rey for 2012 and those were also solid moves for the team.  In the secondary, the Bengals re-signed safties Reggie Nelson and Jeromy Miles as well as cornerback Pacman Jones….and those were good moves.  They also signed CB Jason Allen as a free agent and he will give the Bengals quality depth at CB in 2012.

Special Teams:  The Bengals have used the franchise tag on kicker Mike Nugent.   That was a good move as he was almost automatic last year.

GRADE FOR THE OFF-SEASON SO FAR:  A

The Bengals have released 32-year old safety Chris Crocker.  Crocker played in all 16 games for the Bengals last year and he had 61 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 5 passes defensed.  He played in 46 games in his four years with the Bengals and he had 189 tackles, 19 passes defensed, 3 interceptions, 5 tackles for a loss, 7 sacks and 5 forced fumbles.  The Bengals decided it was time to move in a new direction at safety, but, Crocker shouldn’t have too hard of a time finding a new job.

The Bengals have signed 31-year old OG Jacob Bell.  Bell played in 12 games (all starts) for the Rams last year.  He has now played in 109 games (100 starts) in his first 8 years in the NFL.  This was a good signing for the Bengals as Bell is a pretty darn good football player.

UPDATE:  (5/8/2012) – Jacob Bell has decided to retire from the NFL.

The Bengals have re-signed 27-year old OLB Manny Lawson.  Lawson played in all 16 games for the Bengals last year and he had 52 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 4 tackles for a loss and 4 passes defensed.  He has now played in 80 games in his first six years in the NFL and he has 292 tackles, 16 sacks, 23 tackles for a loss, 6 forced fumbles, 5 fumble recoveries, 2 interceptions and 18 passes defensed.  This was a smart move for the Bengals as Lawson had a solid first year for them in 2011.

The Bengals have re-signed 26-year old DT Pat Sims.  Sims played in 11 games for the Bengals last year and he had 20 tackles, 1 sack and 1 tackle for a loss.  Sims has now played in 52 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has 121 tackles, 5 sacks, 6 tackles for a loss, 1 fumble recovery and 1 pass defensed.  This was a smart move for the Bengals as Sims is a good rotational DT.

The Bengals have signed 26-year old DE Jamaal Anderson.  Anderson played in 15 games for the Colts last year and he had 24 tackles, 3 sacks, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 pass defensed and 1 fumble recovery.  Anderson has now played in 75 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has 129 tackles, 7.5 sacks, 8 tackles for a loss, 10 passes defensed, 2 forced fumbles and 1 fumble recovery.  The Bengals hope that Anderson is a late bloomer as he is a former 1st round pick.

The Bengals have signed 25-year old DE Derrick Harvey.  Harvey played in 5 games for the Broncos last year and he had 4 tackles and 1 fumble recovery.  Harvey has now played in 52 games in his first four years in the NFL and he has 92 tackles, 8 sacks, 6 tackles for a loss, 2 forced fumbles, 5 passes defensed and 1 interception.  Harvey was a first round pick not too long ago, so the Bengals hope that he’s a late bloomer.