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| Cincinnati?. (US Presswire) |
About a month ago, the Cowboys released 33-year-old cornerback Terence Newman and his $6 million contract, and considering his shoddy play of the past two seasons, the transaction didn’t come as much of a surprise.
Luckily for the 2003 first-round draft pick, the Bengals are there to give him another chance, signing him to a deal according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Based on multiple reports, the contract is for one year.
As colleague Ryan Wilson noted recently, Newman “was a top-flight corner early in his career but he's probably a sub-package defensive back going forward.” While Newman was fine in the first half of last season, his performance badly suffered in the final eight games, and according to Pro Football Focus, quarterbacks completed 62.8 percent of passes against him.
Overall, PFF ranked Newman No. 97 out of 109 cornerbacks in 2011 and No. 86 out of 100 in 2010.
Still, Bengals defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer -- formerly the defensive coordinator in Dallas -- seems to think Newman could fit in well with his defense.
"I've known Terence for so long," Zimmer told the Fort Worth Star Telegram last month. "You know sometimes it's just good for guys to get a change and get a new start on things. I always loved Terence. I always thought he was a good, competitive kid with a lot of ability. I think sometimes you get in different systems and things work out better for you, because it's a better scheme fit or whatever. I'm not saying it is or it isn't.
"... You've got to see that in person, but I know what kind of person he is. I know what kind of character he has. And I know how he would fit in with our football team. To me, that's important, too."
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