Bengals coach
Marvin Lewis has said the club will identify the player in time to negotiate a
contract before April 26. But Lewis won't get any more specific, although signs
still point to Heisman Trophy winning quarterback Carson Palmer.
Like
most teams, the Bengals will attend the pro day of Marshall quarterback Byron
Leftwich on April 7.
"Nothing is going to play out until Byron has his
public showing," Lewis said. "The guy warrants an opportunity to be considered
as a first-round draft pick. (April 7) will be defining for him."
In the
meantime, the Bengals are busy scheduling the allowed 20 pre-draft visits by
draft-eligible players.
"It's another opportunity to spend more time
with each player, for the medical staff to look at them," Lewis said.
Leftwich is one of four players Lewis said the Bengals would consider
drafting first overall. The others are Palmer (USC), cornerback Terence Newman
(Kansas State) and wide receiver Charles Rogers (Michigan State).
Newman
is expected to visit the week of April 7, probably more toward the 10th or 11th.
Lewis is not looking for a quick fix with the first pick. He sees it as
a long-term investment, a six- or seven-year window of benefit.
The
sense around the Bengals is that the team helped itself in free agency by
signing as many as four defensive starters and two offensive starters. They now
have the luxury of grooming a quarterback such as Palmer behind a productive Jon
Kitna as the starter. The Bengals finished 28th in scoring last season, but
projecting the 21.3 points the team averaged in Kitna's 12 starts, they would
have finished 20th.
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