Sapp, Bengals on verge of watershed deal

[Paragon]

http://www.cincinnatibengals.com/

The Bengals went into Saturday morning on the verge of their boldest move of the free-agency era when they worked deep into Friday night and were on the brink of a deal to bring future Hall of Fame defensive tackle Warren Sapp to Cincinnati.

Not only would he give the Bengals’ defensive line its first double-team threat in years, Sapp’s high-voltage profile would immediately transform one of the club’s worst weeks into one of the best. A Sapp signing would counter the nasty headlines stemming from Hamilton County’s lawsuit against the Bengals and the NFL. And, it would turn disgruntled Corey Dillon’s national rip job of the team into a musty footnote.

“He’s a game-changer,” said one NFL assistant coach Friday. “He makes you change your game plan. You need two guys to block him. There’s only about seven or eight guys in the league that make you change what you have to do, and he’s one of them.”

How close? During and after Friday’s extensive talks with the club, agent Drew Rosenhaus said the sides had made “very significant progress,” and stood a phone call away as midnight neared to complete what is believed to be a four-year deal. Other teams are involved, Rosenhaus said, with Kansas City the major suspect. But clearly, Sapp, the best tackle of his era, has struck a chord with Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis, the most successful defensive coach of that era.

(more)

[Catholic Sensation]

1. 16 million for four years is way too much

[Paragon]

2. Maybe, maybe not

But smaller markets (especially ones with a horrific history of losing) have to overpay to attract talent.

Why do you think Ivan Rodriguez signed with the Detroit Tigers?

[Catholic Sensation]

3. to win a world series obviously!