[Stardust]

INDIANAPOLIS – Marvin Lewis is still hopeful about re-signing T.J. Houshmandzadeh.

In an interview with local reporters at the NFL Scouting Combine today, the Bengals coach said he talked to the free-agent wide receiver on Thursday and that there would be enough room under the salary cap to have both him and Chad Ocho Cinco on the roster this season.

On Monday, after the team announced that kicker Shayne Graham had been given the franchise tag, Houshmandzadeh gave his chances of being with another team at “greater than 90 percent.” The free-agent signing period begins in six days.

“With franchising Shayne, it solidifies that spot and now we can go out and compete for T.J. (Houshmandzadeh), Stacy (Andrews), and other free agents down the line,” Lewis said. “The other side of the T.J. thing is he's in a situation of being tentative. Hopefully we can get him signed to a long-term contract that will allow him to go back and be the committed guy he had been in prior years.

“The relationship with T.J. is great. We just have to compete and see where things end up and hopefully we can get him signed and be back. … T.J. means so much to me and this football team. He's a big part of my extension downstairs and even though half the time I'm chewing his butt about something, he understands where the envelope stops and when it's time to go back to being a good leader. He has a great disposition where he can reach everyone in the locker room and he has an air of respect inside the locker room.”

When asked if he could see both Houshmandzadeh and Ocho Cinco not being on the roster next season, Lewis said: “I don’t think that scenario would exist."

If the Bengals were somehow able to reach a deal with Houshmandzadeh, who has caught 90 or more passes each of the last three seasons, he is hopeful of having a player there for offseason workouts. He has skipped the last two..................

http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20090...00044/1066