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WR Laveranues Coles signs with the Cincinnati Bengals

A source says the deal is four years and for 28 million dollars. From ESPN-

A day after losing wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh, the Cincinnati Bengals replaced him by agreeing to a contract with former New York Jets wide receiver Laveranues Coles.

Coles agreed to a four-year, $28 million deal, according to a source.

For Coles, it was a victory. He turned down a $6 million guaranteed salary from the Jets. To obtain his freedom, Coles voided the final year of his Jets contract and became a free agent.

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“The Bengals were very aggressive right from the start in talking to us,” Coles said, in a statement released by the team. “And when a team makes you feel really wanted, that’s a factor you’re not going to ignore. They said, ‘Let’s get this worked out,’ and we did.”

The 31-year-old Coles caught 631 passes during his nine-year career with the Jets. He had 8,095 yards and 44 touchdown receptions during his career in New York.

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Houshmandzadeh’s departure left Chad Ocho Cinco and Chris Henry as the two most experienced receivers. The Bengals quickly focused on Coles, who caught 70 passes for 850 yards last season and led the team with seven touchdown catches. He’s replacing one of the NFL’s most reliable receivers — Houshmandzadeh had 112 catches in 2007 and 92 last year, even though Carson Palmer was sidelined for most of the season by an injury to his passing elbow.

Coles is a very good wide receiver but the Bengals stink. I don’t see how this can be considered a good match. Laveranues went for the money and I won’t fault him for that. At least he spared the media and sports fans the usual cliches about picking team because he liked the potential they had.

 
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