According to Joe Reedy of the Cincinnati Enquirer, “indications are” that Bengals DE Michael Johnson will play out the 2013 season under the franchise tag.
A previous report from Jason La Canfora mentioned that there wasn’t a lot of optimism that a long-term deal between the Bengals and Johnson could be reached before the July 15 deadline.
Instead, La Canfora added that the Bengals are more likely to allow him test to test the open market last season and shift their focus to DT Geno Atkins who will also be an unrestricted free agent.
Cincinnati’s defensive line has been a major strength for them in recent years, but they’ll also need to address the contract of DE Carlos Dunlap next season as well.
All things considered, it appears as though Johnson will be in a new uniform at this point next year.
We have Atkins, Johnson and Dunlap all listed in our Top 50 – 2014 Free Agents list.
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