T.J. considering three teams
Vikings, Seahawks court WR; Bengals still in running
By Joe Reedy • jreedy@enquirer.com • March 2, 2009
T.J. Houshmandzadeh was determined to make a decision on his future by Sunday night. But after a five-plus hour meeting with the Vikings, that decision has been delayed until today according to his agent, Kennard McGuire.
The reason for the delay is that Houshmandzadeh is weighing offers from three teams - the Bengals, Vikings and Seahawks. After a meeting at Vikings headquarters lasting more than five hours, he was in Minneapolis overnight.
The Bengals have been in discussions with McGuire and have an offer on the table higher than the deals of Plaxico Burress (five years, $35 million with $11 million guaranteed) and Hines Ward (five years, $33 million). The Minneapolis Star Tribune is reporting that the Vikings and Seahawks are both offering three-year deals, with Seattle offering a couple million more per season than Minnesota.
Houshmandzadeh arrived in Minnesota Saturday night on a plane sent by owner Zygi Wilf to Seattle. He had dinner with team officials and coaches after arriving and then went to the team's headquarters in Winter Park, Minn., on Sunday.
The Vikings, along with the Seahawks, are two of four teams that Houshmandzadeh on Friday said he would like to play for.
But in an interview on ESPN, the Vikings were the only team that Houshmandzadeh elaborated on why he would like to go there.
"If I can play with Adrian Peterson, can you imagine what I would do getting one-on-one coverage?" he said. "I'm going to win 98.6 percent of the time with one-on-one coverage with him in the backfield."
On Friday, Houshmandzadeh met with Seahawks officials, which included a tour of the team's new headquarters on the shores of Lake Washington from owner Paul Allen's seaplane.
Besides money, there are a couple of other factors that Houshmandzadeh is weighing, including the head coach, offensive system and quarterbacks.
Minnesota, which won the NFC North last season at 10-6, does have Peterson, but they also have some questions at quarterback. The Vikings traded for Houston's Sage Rosenfels on Friday, but he has not proven whether he can be a consistent starter. Houshmandzadeh might also be the No. 2 receiver with the Vikings having a proven No. 1 in Bernard Berrian, who signed a $43.4 million contract last season.
Seattle was 4-12 last season and has a new coach in Jim Mora Jr. Matt Hasselbeck is an All-Pro quarterback, but like the Bengals' Carson Palmer, he fought injuries last season and played in only seven games. He could go to the Seahawks and be the No. 1 receiver after tight end John Carlson led the team in receptions, receiving yards and TD catches, the first rookie to do that since Steve Largent.
The Bengals, 4-11-1 last season, finished last in the league in offense, but were missing most of their skill players.
Palmer, who is working out in California, has been vocal behind the scenes this week, pressing the team and even Houshmandzadeh to stay.
Houshmandzadeh, who was drafted in the seventh round by the Bengals in 2001, has three straight seasons of 90 or more catches and leads all NFL receivers in most receptions since 2005 (372). He is third in team history in receptions (507), fifth in touchdowns (37) and seventh in yards (5,782).
http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090302/SPT02/903020325/1066
Calendar