The agent for franchise free agent Mike Nugent said Wednesday his client signed his one-year tender, but indicated he may not be around much during a hectic offseason.
"Over the weekend, Mike and I discussed the many commitments he has this offseason," Ken Harris said in a statement. "The biggest being his wedding in a few weeks. In his specific circumstances this busy offseason, his focus on those commitments will be better served by knocking out the tender signing beforehand while I discuss a long-term deal with the team. Mike is doing so today before heading back out of town again tomorrow. I seriously doubt he would be signing a tender at this point if this were any other offseason."
Harris's reminder is that Nugent had the best year of his career (breaking Bengals single-season records for points and field goals) after an offseason he worked out on his own because of the lockout. Now that he has signed the $2.65 million tender, he'll at least be here for the June 12-14 mandatory minicamp.
Harris has up until July 15 to sign a long-term deal with the Bengals. After that he can continue negotiating with the club but can't sign it until after the season.
