Cincinnati Bengals: Franchise Tag the Kicker?

The Bengals season was full of mistakes last year. They wanted to start this season off right, but already made a huge mistake.

The team placed the franchise tag on, not T.J. Houshmandzadeh, but kicker Shane Graham.

What are the Bengals thinking?

I know Shane Graham is a good kicker, and has been their most consistent player, but come on.

They have bigger things to worry about than a kicker. They should have signed him to a long-term deal and made that that.

They have some big players that are about to go to free agency, and those players should be first priority.

I know T.J. Houshmandzadeh has said he would sit out if they tagged him, but that's a load of crap. He would play if he wanted to go to another team.

Who else said they wouldn't play last year?

It was Chad Johnson. Did he sit out? No.

I think this was a really stupid move by the Bengals.

They could have used the tag on Cedric Benson, who showed potential, or Chris Crocker, who was doing a great job at safety last season.

That's the problem with this team, they keep trying to sign new talent, but when the new talent is almost at full potential, they let them go.

A big example is Madieu Williams. They'd rather keep the convict on their team than re-sign the talent that's already there.  

Don't get your hopes up Bengals' fans. It looks like the beginning of another bad season for the men in stripes.