Karlos Dansby stays to the AFC North, joins the Cincinnati Bengals

The Cincinnati Bengals have had a rough, albeit anticipated offseason, with a bunch of players leaving town. They resigned several key players on the defense; George Iloka, Vincent Rey, Adam 'Pacman' Jones, and a few backups, but they lost 3 key players from their offense in right tackle Andre Smith and wide receiver Mohamed Sanu and Marvin Jones, plus linebacker Emmanual Lamur. Although they still have several more free agents who remain unsigned, the Bengals have for the most part sat out free agency.

However, they made their first outside move with the signing of veteran inside linebacker Karlos Dansby, who was cut by the division rival Cleveland Browns earlier this off-season in a cost-cutting move. Dansby foreshadowed that the Bengals would be a good fit, with this quote in an post-cut interview:

"I'm sure the Bengals are licking their chops,''

Dansby might be on his last legs at 34 years old, and how he fits into the Bengals picture is unclear with Rey Maualuga, the resigned Vincent Rey, and top ILB Vontaze Burfict, who will need to serve a suspension following his latest dangerous hit, this one on wide receiver Antonio Brown in the playoffs.

The Bengals may be hoping that Dansby will be a solid, positive influence on Burfict, who looks to be playing himself out of the league with bone-headed and dangerous plays. If that is the case, this is a great move. Either way, if this is their big move this off-season then expect a step back from this Bengals team after all the losses.