T.J. skeptical about return

Docny1975 · Feb 6, 2009

T.J. Houshmandzadeh skeptical about return

From T.J. Houshmandzadeh's perspective, it sounds like his days in Cincinnati might be drawing near a close.
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"I really don't know. I can't speak for them but I haven't heard from them which would lead me to assume that I'm out of there," Houshmandzadeh said on Thursday.

With free agency set to begin three weeks from today, Houshmandzadeh could be one of the top players on the market and among the most prized wide receivers.

Houshmandzadeh led the Bengals last season with 92 catches for 904 yards and four touchdowns. In 2007, he tied for the league lead in receptions with 112. He gained 1,143 yards and 12 TDs.

But despite the personal production for the last couple seasons, it's still been a frustrating time for Houshmandzadeh in light of all the losing. Since winning the AFC North in 2005 and getting of to a 3-0 start in 2006, the Bengals have gone 16-28-1, including last season's 4-11-1 campaign.

"It's frustrating when everyone expects you to play well and you bust your (butt) in the offseason," Houshmandzadeh said.

Even a winning second half - when the Bengals went 4-3-1 - wasn't enough to ease the frustration.

"We got some wins at the end of the season but they were against some teams that were not very good. You can't get any satisfaction out of that. The only satisfaction that I got was that we were still working hard every week," Houshmandzadeh said.

When asked what the problems of the past couple seasons have been, Houshmandzadeh saw the problems more with execution than strategy,

"To me I don't see the playbook as much of a problem as guys not getting the job done," he said.

"Coach (Marvin) Lewis knows who to blame whether it is the players or a coach. The players go out and play but coaching is relating to the players. Most coaches know the X's and O's but they have to trust the players. Right now the trust and belief is not there. I can't speak for everyone, but when you're losing games there are going to be a lot of questions."

Whether or not Houshmandzadeh is available will not be truly known for another two weeks. He is an unrestricted free agent, but the Bengals could still use the franchise tag on him. The period for teams to designate franchise players continues until 4 p.m. Feb. 19.

Should the Bengals tag him, Houshmandzadeh would make $9.88 million next season. That amount is determined by the average of the top five salaries at receiver from last season. Last week, Lewis said that he would prefer not to tag anyone.

Even if Houshmandzadeh was designated as a franchise player, the Bengals appear to be in good shape for targeting their needs in free agency.

According to Andrew Brandt, a former capologist for the Green Bay Packers who now works for the National Football Post, the Bengals are estimated to be about $28 million under the projected cap of $123 million. That is the fifth-best in the league in terms of cap room.

"I believe the Bengals can still win, but a lot of changes have to occur," Houshmandzadeh said.

If Houshmandzadeh is not tagged and does go into free agency, there are plenty of teams that will vie for his services. On Wednesday, he made an appearance on a radio talk show in Chicago, and followed that with a visit on the air in Philadelphia Thursday.

"You can't talk to teams until the 27th, but I have some idea who might be interested. You have to take a look at a team and its situation and get a feel for things," Houshmandzadeh said.

Calls to Houshmandzadeh's agent were not returned.
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http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090206/SPT02/902060382/1066

Id love him if we could afford him.

Popeye's Army · Feb 6, 2009

You might want to change the title of this thread because I thought it was about Thomas Jones ??

jetophile · Feb 6, 2009

Me, too. Housh, er, Housmag, er, Houshmaugzalzzzabbbaguggeh - whatever, it's a bit of a stretch to type, you have to admit; but I immediately thought the same thing. It's in the right place, though.

Docny1975 · Feb 6, 2009

dont know why it aint changed in the thread listing but I did change it. I never really called Thomas Jones TJ so didnt think about it at first.

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