Their actions over the past three days spoke louder than any words could have but, just for anyone who couldn’t connect all the dots, the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday added the words to the equation as well.
In a move that was hardly surprising, particularly given the acquisition of three new defensive starters in a 48-hour period, the Bengals announced they decline to match the “transition” free-agent offer sheet that linebacker Takeo Spikes signed with the Buffalo Bills last Friday afternoon.
That means Spikes moves on to the Bills, with a six-year, $32 million deal, and the Bengals receive nothing in terms of draft-choice compensation.
“This is the beginning of a new day in the Bengals organization and in the shaping of the football team under my direction,” said first-year head coach Marvin Lewis.
Cincinnati officials had until Friday to decide whether to match the offer sheet, which includes a $9 million initial signing bonus and in excess of $11 million in guaranteed money. But almost immediately after Spikes signed the offer sheet, the Bengals began making moves to replace him and to revamp their overall defensive unit.
On Friday evening, the team reached accords with defensive tackle John Thornton and linebacker Kevin Hardy. And then on Sunday afternoon, the Bengals agreed to terms with cornerback Tory James. All three veterans will be starters for Cincinnati.
In essence, the Bengals took the money they would have had to invest in matching the Spikes offer sheet and turned it into three new starters. In part, that was because Spikes had publicly indicated he would prefer to leave the Bengals after five losing seasons with the team. Spikes phoned Lewis on Friday to reiterate that point.
Spikes, 26, was the Bengals’ first-round choice in the 1998 draft. He has posted more than 100 tackles all five years in the league and missed just one game during his career. That came when his father passed away early in the 2001 season.
He has 567 tackles, 14 ½ sacks and five interceptions. Lewis had flip-flopped a few times in discussing Spikes and his future with the club. When he was first hired, Lewis suggested that if Spikes did not want to be part of rebuilding the program, maybe it would be better if he departed. He subsequently claimed he wanted to retain Spikes but then, as it became apparent the linebacker might sign an offer sheet with another team, returned to his initial stance.
“Signing the (offer) sheet would definitely be a message that he did not want to stay here,” Lewis said at the time.
For the Bills, the acquisition of Spikes is a giant step toward upgrading their linebacker corps. He becomes the second linebacker added since the start of the free-agent period.
The Bills were the first team out of the chute at the start of free agency, signing strongside linebacker Jeff Posey of Houston to a four-year deal just an hour after the signing period began.
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