Dec 27th 2008 12:39AM by Sportz Assassin (author feed)
Filed under: Bengals, AFC North, NFL Free AgencDespite the feeling that he would get tagged, NFL.com’s Adam Schefter is reporting that the Cincinnati Bengals will not use the franchise tag on receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh.

He cites a league source, so this could be real. However, everything would point to them placing the tag on Housh. He is a Pro Bowl receiver, he’s been one of the best players on the team despite their recent swoon and they really have no one else they need to use the tag on.

Last offseason, they used the tag on offensive tackle Stacy Andrews. Just last Sunday, Andrews blew out his knee and is done for the season. It is highly doubtful that the Bengals would bother tagging him because his value has dropped this season. So the thought was that the franchise tag could be used on Houshmandzadeh.

The article says that the Bengals will instead attempt to sign Housh to a long term deal, something it hasn’t been able to get done all year long. If they can’t get anything done, the Bengals still could use the tag on him.

This news could also mean that Chad Johnson could still be in Cincinnati next year. No way does the team let T.J. walk out and then they deal Chad.