+As an NFL Player: Mark Carrier was once one of the best young safeties in the league. He was drafted 6th overall in the 1990 NFL Draft by the Chicago Bears. He had an astonishing 10 interceptions, 122 tackles, and 5 forced fumbles in his rookie year, making the Pro Bowl easily.

Oddly, Carrier never reached those totals again in his 11 year career. He made the Pro Bowl again in 1991 and 1993, but his career slightly faded and he didn't make it back. After his rookie season, he never posted more than 5 interceptions again. His statistics definitely take a noticeable dip after his first four years, but this doesn't tell the full story. Carrier remained as one of the top safeties in the league. When he signed with the Detroit Lions in 1997, he revived his career, posting 5 interceptions, was the Lions' defensive captain, and made all the calls in the secondary. In 1998, he was defensive co-captain, received the Lions' Joe Schmidt Leadership Award Winner, and was named the NFL's top Free Safety by Sports Illustrated. In 1999, Carrier received the Lions' Leadership Award again, and was also a first alternate in the Pro Bowl. After one final season with the Washington Redskins in 2000, Carrier retired.

Carrier never had a major injury; he only missed 8 starts in his entire career. In fact, he started 108 games in a row, a streak that began when he entered the NFL.

In his career, he posted 32 interceptions (with 370 return yards and one returned for a touchdown), 16 forced fumbles, and 765 tackles.

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A lot of things are going on in Bengaldom right now. Rey Maualuga is getting set to fight his legal battle against an assault charge, free agent cornerback Stanford Routt is visiting Cincinnati and the "Underwear Olympics" (AKA the Scouting Combine) starts next week. And now, very surprisingly, Hue Jackson is returning to Cincinnati.

Talk about whatever you want--it's your time to shine.

The Cincinnati Bengals announced that they've signed former Detroit Lions running back Aaron Brown on Friday. Selected in the sixth-round during the 2009 NFL Draft out of Texas Christian University, Brown played 22 games with the Lions, posting 189 yards on 45 rushes (4.2 yard/rush average) -- though a significant portion of that was during his rookie season in 2009. The Lions waived Brown on September 4, 2011 before re-signing him on November 28 -- he was released one month later.

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At some point during the regular season, Raiders head coach Hue Jackson called the Cincinnati Bengals and asked, "what would it take to take Carson Palmer off your hands." Mike Brown grumbled, Marvin Lewis cautioned exploratory patience to the owner.

Discussions took place, negotiations commenced and ideas were exchanged. Soon after the Raiders sent their 2012 first-round pick and 2013 second-round pick to the Cincinnati Bengals in exchange for Cincinnati's declining franchise quarterback. After that the Bengals made the 2011 NFL playoffs, the Raiders failed to reach the postseason and Hue Jackson was fired by an incoming general manager who had yet to be introduced to the press.

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According to ESPN, the Cincinnati Bengals have hired -- actually re-hired -- Hue Jackson to be on the team's coaching staff. Jackson was the team's wide receiver coach from 2004 to 2006 before he left offensive coordinator of the Atlanta Falcons in 2007, the quarterback's coach for the Ravens in 2008 and 2009, the offensive coordinator in Oakland in 2010 and eventually the Raiders head coach in 2011. He was fired after his first season as head coach, though, after the team failed to make the playoffs and after he was a major architect of the Carson Palmer trade.

Now, Jackson is returning to the Bengals to help the team as an assistant coach to help the team's secondary and special teams. Jackson was one of the more liked coaches among fans for the Bengals and his return is likely good news for many fans.

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Cornerback Stanford Routt was released by the Raiders last Thursday, adding one more experienced and talented corner to this year's deep free agent class. Routt had signed a $54.5 million, five-year deal last summer, but was unable to maintain a high level of play once (former) shutdown cornerback Nnamdi Asomugha left in free agency to the Philadelphia Eagles. That deal also included $20 million guaranteed, meaning that the Raiders truly swallowed hard and lost a large chunk of money for nothing.

Routt has reportedly drawn interest from many teams around the league, one of those being the Bengals, who are hosting Routt today for a visit today (as Jason mentioned on Wednesday). Routt had visited the Buffalo Bills on Tuesday, the Kansas City Chiefs on Wednesday and Thursday, and will also be visiting the Dallas Cowboys and the Tennessee Titans in the future, according to Jason La Canfora.

Routt is in a unique situation because he was released before free agency officially begins on March 13. That means he can be signed before March 13, giving him a leg up because he's one of only a few players visiting teams right now.

If you see him around town, tell him how much Cincinnati rocks your socks, but also remind him that he needs to cut down on the penalties. He led the entire league in 2011 with 17 penalties called.

According to a report by the Associated Press on Yahoo! Sports, Cincinnati Bengals middle linebacker Rey Maualuga entered a plea of not guilty to misdemeanor assault charges on Friday stemming from a report that he punched a bar manager in the face on Feb. 5.

This is the second time that Maualuga has been in a local court room. Last January he pleaded guilty to a charge of driving under the influence and since this is his second charge possibly involving alcohol, if found guilty he could be facing a suspension or at least a fine from the NFL.

Since Maualuga has entered a plea of not guilty, he'll have to report to the Hamilton County Municipal Court in the future for another court date. The date of his next appearance has not yet been released. Stay tuned for more on the story.

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