According to the National Football Post, free agent wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh signed a five-year, $40 million contract with the Seahawks. The deal also includes $15 million in guarantees.

Barring any last-second problems, free agent wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh will sign a multi-year contract with the Seattle Seahawks, according to sources close to the situation.

According to the source, the Seahawks have offered close to $2 million more than the closest competitor in the race for Houshmandzadeh’s services.

An eight-year veteran out of Oregon State, Houshmandzadeh caught 92 passes for 904 yards and 4 touchdowns in 15 starts for the Bengals last season.

In addition to the Seahawks, the Vikings and Bengals were pursing Houshmandzadeh.

Well…slap…me…hard. I thought Housh would wind up in Minnesota after the Vikes made a decent push this weekend and if not there, surely back in Cincinnati where the Bengals seemed to be offering the most money. Out of the top three choices, I would have ranked Seattle third as Housh’s likely destination. Yikes.

The Seahawks landed the best receiver on the market, although they probably overpaid considering he’ll be 32 in September. He’s highly dependable, an excellent target and he’s not afraid to go over the middle if he has to. Hopefully he doesn’t mind blocking either, because he’ll be doing plenty of it in Greg Knapp’s West Coast Offense because the Seahawks will definitely run the ball next year.

I just wonder how Knapp and Housh will get along. Knapp seems like a good guy, but he’s been known to frustrate receivers in the past (i.e. Terrell Owens and Peerless Price), and Housh isn’t afraid to voice his frustration when he feels that what the offense is doing isn’t working.

I also wonder what this signing means for Michael Crabtree, who some predicted would go fourth to the Seahawks in the April. With Seattle needing to address other holes, I doubt Crabtree will be their pick in round one now that Housh has been signed. (Or is expected to sign, that is.)

Perhaps the biggest name still left on the free agent market is wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who appears poised to sign with the Vikings if you read between the lines.

When the free agency period began last Friday, Housh set up a visit with the Seahawks. He left Seattle without signing a contract, however, and despite rumors that the Lions, Bengals and Bears were interested, Housh headed to Minnesota for a visit with the Vikings on Saturday.

He hasn’t left Minnesota since.

According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Housh remained in Minnesota overnight Sunday and is expected to make a decision on whom he’ll sign with by Monday night. He is supposed to pay a visit to Tampa early this week, but it appears that the Vikes are trying hard not to let him leave Minnesota without a contract.

Houshmandzadeh and Bernard Berrian would make quite the underrated receiving tandem in Minnesota. Coupled with bruiser Adrian Peterson and a solid line, the Vikings would have one of the better offenses in the NFC and certainly the best in the North. Some fans might not be enthralled with the Sage Rosenfels trade, but he’ll give Tarvaris Jackson some competition and head coach Brad Childress will allow the best man win this summer.

If the Vikings could eventually land Housh (and for what it’s worth, I think they will), then they’d easily be the favorites to once again with the NFC North. Signing Housh would also mean that they could concentrate on filling some holes on the defensive side of the ball and add good overall depth to the entire team.

Unless the Bucs make a strong push, the last time the Vikings probably have to worry about swooping in and stealing Housh would be the Bengals. Cincy still remains in the mix and even though Housh would probably be upgrading his situation if he went to Minnesota, he has history with the Bengals and his heart could remain there.

Houshmandzadeh has averaged 89 catches for 1,012 yards and seven touchdowns in five seasons as a Bengals starter. But he also will be 32 in September, which may scare some teams from offering the lucrative long-term contract Houshmandzadeh is seeking.

The Seahawks failed to have a wide receiver crack the 500-yard mark in 2008 — the first time that had happened in a non-strike season since the franchise’s inception in 1976.

Two of Seattle’s top four receivers — Bobby Engram and Koren Robinson — are now free agents.

Hopefully Housh enjoys blocking because if he signs with Seattle, he’ll be doing a lot of it in Greg Knapp’s West Coast Offense. Not that he wouldn’t be a fit for the Seahawks because they do need dependable wide receivers (some mock drafts have the Hawks taking Texas Tech wideout Michael Crabtree in the first round), but Knapp has been known to frustrate receivers before (Terrell Owens and Peerless Price are just two examples) and Housh isn’t the type to bite his tongue if he’s unhappy about his role.

Housh also told ESPN 950 that if the Eagles want him that he’d, “be an Eagle tomorrow.” But does Philly want him?

- According to NFL.com, Kurt Warner and the Cardinals remain far apart on a new contract, which means the quarterback will hit the open market at 12:01 a.m. Friday morning. Warner is still likely to re-sign with Arizona, but the Cards can’t feel entirely comfortable that he’ll be allowed to test the market.

- Despite saying he would like to play for the Steelers, Jeff Saturday re-signed with the Colts for three more years. Saturday was apparently willing to play guard if he went to Pittsburgh, but he’s a fan favorite in Indianapolis and apparently well liked by new head coach Jim Caldwell.

- Free agent quarterback Rex Grossman (Bears) says he would be interested in playing for the Lions next season. He must think he can beat out the other 95 quarterbacks that Detroit has on its roster.

- The National Football Post is reporting that there’s a 70% chance that T.J. Houshmandzadeh stays a Bengal. Not that the report is inaccurate by any means, but I highly doubt Housh stays in Cincy if a contender comes along and outbids the Bengals. Still, this is positive news for Cincy fans.

- In a series of moves, the Dolphins signed free agent free safety Gibril Wilson, who was cut by the Raiders earlier this week, and re-signed strong safety Yeremiah Bell to a new four-year, $20 million contract.

- According to FOXSports.com, the Cowboys are reportedly shopping strong safety Roy Williams. So if any team is in need of an extra linebacker that they can line up at safety, Williams might be their guy.

Notable Free Agents: T.J. Houshmandzadeh, WR; Stacy Andrews, OT; Shayne Graham, K (franchised); Eric Ghiaciuc, C; Cedric Benson, RB; Brandon Johnson, LB; Chris Crocker, FS.

Projected 2009 Cap Space: $22,000,000

Draft Order: 6

Top Needs: Depending on what players the Bengals choose to re-sign, the team needs to make major additions to the offensive line and could use a boost at defensive end. Running back and wide receiver will be two positions owner/GM Mike Brown looks at as well.

Offseason Outlook: Cap-wise, the Bungles aren’t in bad shape but they’ve got major question marks heading into the offseason.

The team decided not to use a franchise tag on wideout T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who more than likely will jet as soon as he officially becomes a free agent at the end of the month. And considering Cincy decided to franchise kicker Shayne Graham, there’s a good possibility they’ll lose running back Cedric Benson this offseason, too.

You can already see the wheels turning in Mike Brown’s head. If he’s unable to re-sign Housh and Benson, he might look to draft one of the skill positions with the sixth overall pick, which would be a mistake. Adding a dynamic receiving prospect like Michael Crabtree or a big back like Chris “Beanie” Wells won’t get you very far if the offensive line remains a mess.

Don’t get it twisted – Crabtree and Wells are outstanding prospects and if Brown decides to go with either one come April, he would be adding a solid piece to the Bengals’ offense. But if Brown does go that route in the draft, then he’ll need to address the offensive line woes this offseason, mainly re-signing free agent tackle Stacy Andrews and addressing the center position in the second or third round. Andrews had ACL, MCL surgery in January, but reports state that he’s ahead of schedule and should be ready to play by preseason.

Anthony Collins is an adequate backup for Andrews if he isn’t ready by the start of the season. But the Bengals have a major issue at left tackle, where Levi Jones has been a major bust. The team reportedly won’t take a cap hit by releasing Jones, but they have to address the position one way or another. That’s why taking one of the top offensive tackle prospects — Eugene Monroe, Jason Smith, Andre Smith, Michael Oher — with the sixth overall pick would serve the Bengals better than going with either Crabtree (who might not be available anyway) or Wells.

You build a team from the inside out and the Bengals have major holes at left tackle and center. If they re-sign Andrews, draft one of the top tackle prospects and then address the center position either in the second or third round, it would go a long way in improving their overall offense. Then the team can add another wide receiver (if Housh departs) and/or running back (if Benson isn’t re-signed) later in the draft after the needs along the offensive line are addressed.

Defensively, getting a healthy Jonathan Joseph and Keith Rivers back in the mix will go a long way in helping coordinator Mike Zimmer construct a successful defense. Making contract offers to restricted free agent linebackers Rashad Jeanty and Brandon Johnson are a must, so then the Bengals could concentrate on upgrading the defensive line and possibly even the middle linebacker spot, where Dhani Jones is adequate but getting long in the tooth.

Even if they do lose Housh this offseason, the Bengals could still be in good shape as long as Brown makes sound decisions, which is a huge question mark. He needs to concentrate on the offensive line and resigning guys like Andrews, Benson, Jeanty and Johnson, and not panic by trying to go all out in replacing Housh.

Philadelphia Eagles general manager Tom Heckert tells Fox 29 the team likely won’t be adding a free agent receiver to Donovan McNabb’s arsenal.

“It’s an easy out for everyone to say we need a wide receiver but we did get one – DeSean Jackson,” Heckert said. Jackson was a second-round pick last season.

Heckert believes Jackson is a prime threat at wide receiver and receivers won’t be an issue for the team during the free agent season.

He also said the Donovan McNabb has been at the Eagles training facility daily since the Super Bowl and that he’s been talking regularly with McNabb.

But Heckert was tight lipped about any ongoing contract talks with the star quarterback.

This could just be a smokescreen by Heckert, but then again, this hasn’t been a team that goes out and pursues top dollar wide receivers very often so maybe the GM is speaking honestly.

Free agent wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh has said that the Bengals have not contacted him about re-signing, which makes him skeptical about his return to Cincinnati.

“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.

“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.”

“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.

The Bengals are long overdue for a makeover and maybe Housh is one of the guys that the team parts with in order to start fresh. They’re definitely a better team with than without him, but at some point a dysfunctional team like the Bengals just has to throw its hands up and start over.

But one thing is for sure, if Cincy is going to part with such a valued piece of their offense, then they need to look at the entire roster and follow through with the cleansing process. It doesn’t make any sense to lose talent if you’re still going to be highly dysfunctional.

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