For the Bengals, it comes down to Jeremiah Trotter being a fantasy pick and Lemar Marshall being a reality TV player.
Marshall, a St. Xavier cornerback who came into the NFL as a safety and has started at all three linebacker spots, signed a one-year contract with his hometown team Thursday when the Bengals opted for versatility over name recognition.
"We're thin. We're down in numbers and this is a guy that we can mix and match in a number of different spots," said defensive coordinator Chuck Bresnahan, who expressed confidence in second-year middle linebacker Ahmad Brooks.
The signing of Marshall, 30, seems to reinforce the Bengals' decision to start Brooks even though the 6-2, 225-pound Marshall started in the middle the last two seasons for the Redskins with 198 solo tackles, 3.5 sacks and four interceptions.
Marshall said the Bengals coaches told him to focus on the strong side behind Rashad Jeanty, which is where the injured Eric Henderson played. And special teams coach Darrin Simmons said, "If you're going to be a backup linebacker, those three backup guys that you dress for games have to be core special teams players. They have to be."
Which is one reason why Trotter isn't here. And was never even really discussed as a logical fit even though the Bengals admire his Pro Bowl career.
But they're not ready to pull the plug on Brooks. The club believes Jeanty and Landon Johnson are two of its strongest defenders. Trotter would be of no help on special teams and would take a guy off the field in Brooks that the team believes can become a playmaker.
Plus, Trotter's injury history in the post-Sam Adams world no doubt turned the Bengals off and his biggest advocate when he visited here in 2004, defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier, is in Minnesota.
In Marshall the Bengals get a guy with Landon Johnson reliability (he has played in 75 out of a possible 80 games) and Kenny Watson versatility. Watson, the third-down running back/special teams ace routinely praised by quarterback Carson Palmer, did the praising of his former Redskins teammate Thursday.
"Great pickup for us," Watson said. "He did what I did. He worked his way up in the league and is a great special teams player and you better believe he could give us some snaps at linebacker if they ask him."
Lewis, Watson and Marshall are all 2002 Redskins veterans, as is Bengals strength coach Chip Morton.
[url]
http://www.bengals.com/news/news.asp?story_id=6216[/url]
i like the signing. very good signing in my book.
i think the bengals LB corp is solid now.. the only problem is the DB and DL... especially the DB..
it says the bengals.