KJC Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 Bengals Trade For Deltha O'Neal CINCINNATI - After failing in their attempts to sign a cornerback in the free agent market, the Cincinnati Bengals acquired Deltha O'Neal from the Denver Broncos for a swap of first-round picks in the April draft. In order to move up seven spots from 24th to 17th in the first round, the Broncos parted with O'Neal and a fourth-round selection. The Bengals promptly signed O'Neal, who was entering the final year of his contract, to a five-year deal through 2008. "We are very excited to acquire a player of Deltha's athletic ability and football skills," said Bengals coach Marvin Lewis. "It is a move to add a player that will upgrade us in our defensive secondary and our special teams." Cincinnati made contract offers to cornerbacks Troy Vincent and Bobby Taylor, but were rebuffed by both. Vincent signed with the Buffalo Bills and Taylor joined the Seattle Seahawks. Determined to add an experienced cornerback, the Bengals ended up with one who made the Pro Bowl in 2001 but never really lived up to expectations in Denver. The Broncos acquired Pro Bowl cornerback Champ Bailey from the Washington Redskins in a trade for running back Clinton Portis, making O'Neal expendable. Coach Mike Shanahan plans to use either Lenny Walls or Kelly Herndon at the other corner. Shanahan could also use the second-round pick he acquired in the deal for Bailey to move up further in the first round. The Bengals cut both Artrell Hawkins and Jeff Burris and needed a left cornerback to play opposite Tory James. The 27-year-old O'Neal started 36 of 61 games in four years with the Broncos, recording 15 interceptions. But nine of those came in 2001. He had five interceptions in 2002 and just one last season. A first-round pick in 2000, O'Neal also was the Broncos' top punt returner each of his four seasons, averaging 10.4 yards and four touchdowns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 Nice move by the bengals.... I still think O'Neal can play, and I think this is a small price to pay to get him. O'Neal should be pretty good in Marvin Lewis' system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KJC Posted April 9, 2004 Author Share Posted April 9, 2004 he has tremendous "ball skills" but his covering ability is not great. Marv get to work... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBurque Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 KR/PR Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramp Posted April 9, 2004 Share Posted April 9, 2004 KR/PR meh, he wont beat out Houshmanzadeh or Warrick for those spots Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckeye Posted April 10, 2004 Share Posted April 10, 2004 KR/PR meh, he wont beat out Houshmanzadeh or Warrick for those spots We need a kick returner. A punt returner not so much. I'm of the opinion Housh sucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hugg Posted April 10, 2004 Share Posted April 10, 2004 Nice move by the bengals.... I still think O'Neal can play, and I think this is a small price to pay to get him. O'Neal should be pretty good in Marvin Lewis' system. Hugg Approves of This Deal. :thumbup We added a corner who should fit well in our system and the Marvin Lewis/Leslie Frazier connection should help him a lot. We only dropped 7 spots and we added another draft pick in the first 4 rounds, giving us 6. I can't wait for April 24-25. And Housh sucks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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