Housh thinks days in Cincy are over

The Bengals today slapped kicker

Shayne Graham

with the franchise tag.

That is news you would usually care less about here at MTC.

But there is a greater significance.

It means

T.J. Houshmandzadeh

will not be getting the franchise tag.

» READ MORE: According to Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com

, Houshmandzadeh now puts the chances of playing elsewhere next season at "99.2 percent."

Not 99.3. Not 99.4. But 99.2.

Per the article, he said he'll consider the Bengals once free agency begins if they offer him "a fair deal."

Hobson

» READ MORE: reported at the end of last week

that the Bengals were going to make a run at Houshmandzadeh once he hit the open market.

If you do a quick Google search, you'll find that pretty much every fan base in America wants their team to sign Houshmandzadeh. And the veteran wideout obviously added fuel to the fire in Philadelphia when

» READ MORE: he went on the radio here

and said he could be interested in playing for the Eagles.

As I pointed out at the time, he also pumped up

Rex Grossman

to a Chicago radio station.

So take everything with a grain of salt my friends.

The free-agency signing period begins Friday, Feb. 27 at 12:01 a.m.

It was a pretty busy day in the NFL. Some other quick notes:

** The Ravens

» READ MORE: cut ties with veteran cornerback Chris McAlister

. Per

baltimoresun.com

, the move will save the team $8 million in cap room. McAlister was the Ravens' first-round pick in 1999 and has been with the team ever since. He is 31 years old.

** Longtime Jaguars running back

Fred Taylor

is also now available.

» READ MORE: Jacksonville cut the 11-year veteran

, even though he offered to take a pay cut, according to the

Florida Times-Union

.