Possibly-soon-to-be-former Seahawks receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh has previously spoken about the fact that the money Seattle offered him in 2009 wasn’t dramatically greater than the money he rejected in Cincinnati. And he has previously hinted at having remorse for leaving the Bengals.
“I miss it,” Houshmandzadeh told Carlos “Big C” Holmes of the Dayton Daily News in December 2009. “The grass ain’t always greener. Let me tell you that.”
(The Daily News has repackaged the quotes in a new item, and if you don’t read the article closely -- like I initially didn’t do -- it appears that Houshmandzadeh made his comments since word of his shaky status in Seattle emerged.)
So while there are no signs that the Bengals are willing to bring back Houshmandzadeh, he seemed to think there was a chance of it happening when the last season ended.
“I might be comin’ back,” Housmandzadeh said. "[Coach] Marvin [Lewis] and me have been keeping a nice little dialogue. He knows.”
And there’s all the Seahawks would need for a tampering case, if they’d choose to make one against the Bengals.
There’s currently no reason to think that the Bengals want Houshmandzadeh back. They squandered $7.85 million on Antonio Bryant and they’ve also signed Terrell Owens. Still, if the Seahawks cut him and the Bengals quickly sign him, the Seahawks may want to consider whether Houshmandzadeh’s performance and/or attitude over the past several months has been infected by the knowledge that the Bengals were waiting from him to wiggle free.