Karlos Dansby is more than a linebacker. He's a seer.
Released by the Browns earlier this month, the 34-year-old veteran told Cleveland.com's Mary Kay Cabot: "I'm sure the Bengals are licking their chops right now."
NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported that Cincinnati will sign Dansby on Tuesday after the former Cardinals and Dolphins standout visited the team last week.
Dansby has always been a playmaker -- he logged a pair of pick-sixes last season for the third time in his career -- but he showed his age against the run.
Despite plenty of time in the 3-4 defense, Dansby will find work in Cincy's 4-3 scheme. While Rey Maualuga and Vincent Rey are under contract at middle linebacker, Dansby is an upgrade over A.J. Hawk for a defense that also must account for Vontaze Burfict's three-game suspension.
Bengals defensive backs coach Kevin Coyle knows Dansby from their time together in Miami, while the Bengals know him as one of the few players who posed a threat on Cleveland's defense over the past two seasons.
With the way Cincy handles and utilizes veteran talent, look for the club to squeeze production out of
CINCINNATI -- The Bengals are making their first new signing of the free-agency period Tuesday, adding former Cleveland Browns linebacker Karlos Dansby, a source told ESPN.
All of Cincinnati's previous free-agency moves this offseason involved re-signing its own players.
The signing, which was first reported by NFL.com, comes about a week after Dansby visited Paul Brown Stadium. His addition gives the Bengals a savvy veteran who has experience playing in coverage. Last season, Pro Football Focus gave him an 87.6 cover grade, the fifth-highest rewarded to a linebacker.
Dansby was released by Cleveland on March 16, shortly after the Browns announced the signing of Demario Davis from the New York Jets. Dansby had signed a four-year, $24 million deal on the first day of free agency in 2014. The Browns saved $3.5 million in cap space by releasing him but will carry a $3 million cap cost for the move.
The 34-year-old Dansby played well for the Browns. He had 93 tackles in 2014 despite missing four games with a knee injury. In 2015, he had a team-leading 108 tackles while adding the responsibility of covering tight ends. He returned two interceptions for touchdowns last season, when he also led the Browns in tackles for loss, interceptions and defensive touchdowns. He was second in passes defended.
Dansby, who also has played for the Arizona Cardinals and Miami Dolphins, is one interception away from being the fifth linebacker in NFL history to have 40 sacks and 20 interceptions.
The signing comes amid the expectation that the Bengals will bring back former safety Taylor Mays, who spent last season in Oakland. Although primarily a safety when he played for the Bengals from 2011 to 2014, Mays spent part of last season in a nickel linebacker role. He could sign later this week, giving the Bengals two additions to their nickel linebacker coverage.
Earlier in free agency, Cincinnati lost its previous nickel linebacker, Emmanuel Lamur, when he agreed to a deal with Minnesota.
ESPN Browns reporter Pat McManamon contributed to this report.
He'll be a good situational type guy ... and a good teammate/leader.
I figured he'd sign with a "good" team in search of a few final pieces
"First down inside the 10. A score here will put us in the Super Bowl. Cooper is far to the left as Njoku settles into the slot. Moore is flanked out wide to the right. Chubb and Ford are split in the backfield as Watson takes the snap ... Here we go."
funny considering that I read about us taking other teams left overs. I liked Dansby but I believe we got younger and better with the Davis signing. And the Ravens lost Upshaw...I am praying we close the gap in the AFC North.
I bet you're wondering the samething I did, why O' why didn't I take the...blue pill
I always admired Dansby's game. His pass coverage skills was/is beyond good. I just don't think he's the LB'er that's going to stick his nose in the middle anymore and help kill the run. Last season I became somewhat convinced of this.
He's still the type though that if he can get an angle, he'll deliver up a crusher.
I'm not threatened, but it was a good signing for them. It kind of makes Hawk the odd man out?
I think that he'll do well for the Bengals. He was one of my favorite signings since 1999, because he is a leader, and he makes plays. Man I wish we would have put a better team with him.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
I talked to my younger brother who is a huge Bengals fan.
He indicated that they needed a MLB who was good in coverage. He felt pretty sure Dansby would cover that role well in a band aid situation. which means they won't have to address it in the draft this year.
I agree with him. Dansby is past his prime but should work well as a situational MLB for the Bengals.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
I cannot picture him in coverage for us last year? So he is their Nickle LB to cover TE and/or RB - he read screens pretty good. Hope Duke gives him trouble.
jmho
Defense wins championships. Watson play your butt off! Go Browns! CHRIST HAS RISEN! GM Strong! & Stay safe everyone!
I cannot picture him in coverage for us last year?
Those two pick-6s must have occurred while he was defending the run.
No need to be snarky (right? is that how you guys say it) I clearly didn't know and why a purposely used a ? in my statement. I had no mental picture of him dropping in coverage. Btw did he drop in coverage or was he just taking his natural responsibility of covering the RB and made a pick 6 in the flat??? Again I don't know. I don't know how often we used him in coverage for NICKEL D...I remember a lot of Robertson, I remember a lot of Kirksey...I don't remember a lot of Dansby. Nice to know he had those 2 good plays...he had talent.
Now did he drop back in coverage in Nickel D which looks like where the Bengals are going to use him situational.
Pit - see I do consider that an insult. I will not try to fire back any longer (we'll see how long that last) but mostly I don't care any longer. Again We Suck...Right On
Defense wins championships. Watson play your butt off! Go Browns! CHRIST HAS RISEN! GM Strong! & Stay safe everyone!
I will miss his leadership. Thought he had two or three picks; one pick 6 was in the right flat if I remember correctly. Can still hit. Now, just another guy to beat. Wish him well. I feel he did well by us while here.
"Every responsibility implies opportunity, and every opportunity implies responsibility." Otis Allen Glazebrook, 1880
Dansby is known as good cover LBer, tab. I think it even mentioned that in the original post on this thread.
Quote:
Again We Suck...Right On
You see........this is where I question your intent when you post things. If people praise a guy for something, you take that to mean we are automatically criticizing the FO. And you absolutely have to fight that atrocity.
I doubt this will pacify you, but I am not saying the FO sucks because they let Dansby walk.
I cannot picture him in coverage for us last year?
Those two pick-6s must have occurred while he was defending the run.
No need to be snarky (right? is that how you guys say it) I clearly didn't know and why a purposely used a ? in my statement. I had no mental picture of him dropping in coverage. Btw did he drop in coverage or was he just taking his natural responsibility of covering the RB and made a pick 6 in the flat??? Again I don't know. I don't know how often we used him in coverage for NICKEL D...I remember a lot of Robertson, I remember a lot of Kirksey...I don't remember a lot of Dansby. Nice to know he had those 2 good plays...he had talent.
Now did he drop back in coverage in Nickel D which looks like where the Bengals are going to use him situational.
Pit - see I do consider that an insult. I will not try to fire back any longer (we'll see how long that last) but mostly I don't care any longer. Again We Suck...Right On
here you go Eotab...this is one pick 6 and the ball bounced off the WR and Dansby scooped it off the guys side or back. will try to find the other one.
Last edited by dawgpound101; 03/31/1610:11 AM.
I bet you're wondering the samething I did, why O' why didn't I take the...blue pill
Thank you - ok RB out of the backfield in the flat. Not a big athletic move but good coverage of his responsibility putting him right there for the errant pass. I'm sure he has skills. Not sure if he has coverage skills on pass catching TE or RB going into patterns besides check downs. Just wondering and questioning the Bengals.
Defense wins championships. Watson play your butt off! Go Browns! CHRIST HAS RISEN! GM Strong! & Stay safe everyone!
Thank you - ok RB out of the backfield in the flat. Not a big athletic move but good coverage of his responsibility putting him right there for the errant pass. I'm sure he has skills. Not sure if he has coverage skills on pass catching TE or RB going into patterns besides check downs. Just wondering and questioning the Bengals.
idk in my opinion we upgraded over him and not sure what role or how much he will play over there
I bet you're wondering the samething I did, why O' why didn't I take the...blue pill
Thank you - ok RB out of the backfield in the flat. Not a big athletic move but good coverage of his responsibility putting him right there for the errant pass. I'm sure he has skills. Not sure if he has coverage skills on pass catching TE or RB going into patterns besides check downs. Just wondering and questioning the Bengals.
idk in my opinion we upgraded over him and not sure what role or how much he will play over there
I actually made no negative comments about us letting Dansby go. I understand the move. I believe he is rated 5th in the league in regards to coverage LB'ers. But at his age, he is not part of the future. It's understandable to me to move forward. I did not and will not criticize the FO for this move.
I plainly stated that the Bengals were signing him strictly as a band aid at the position so as not to be forced to address a coverage MLB in the draft this year. I actually feel it's a smart move on the part of both teams.
When two teams are in very different situations, there comes a point that these two teams can make very different moves that fit each team perfectly. In our case, getting younger at the position makes sense. For the Bengals getting an older veteran to fill a need on a temporary basis makes sense.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
Wow, that had pick written all over it. Our DB was cutting in front and would have INT'd as well. His momentum was going into the field...Dansby going out. Great block - initial by Kruger...and at the end great block by Kirksey! Good play!
Defense wins championships. Watson play your butt off! Go Browns! CHRIST HAS RISEN! GM Strong! & Stay safe everyone!
Wow, that had pick written all over it. Our DB was cutting in front and would have INT'd as well. His momentum was going into the field...Dansby going out. Great block - initial by Kruger...and at the end great block by Kirksey! Good play!
When two teams are in very different situations, there comes a point that these two teams can make very different moves that fit each team perfectly. In our case, getting younger at the position makes sense. For the Bengals getting an older veteran to fill a need on a temporary basis makes sense.
Pit, this is so true. We have seen the odd comment lately critical of us cutting a player(s) that is/are subsequently signed by a top team. As you said, different circumstances...
When the debate is lost, slander becomes the tool of the losers...Socrates
"On Tuesday night, Dansby told SiriusXM NFL Radio his second season with the Cleveland Browns was "the worst season I've ever had to experience as a team" since entering the NFL"
"There was just too much going on and guys having their own agendas,"
... and so on. Granted yes, they're not dagger throwing comments, but he knows of all the outside smack and poor displays the media and outside has on our city - a real professional who claimed to be passionate and etc should know not to sit back and be yet another source of crap.
We all know Pettine and his good old buddy Jimmy O'Neil hacked the defense up and we sucked. We know that Karlos, worry about your new team dude.
That doesn't sound too bad. I searched for it and couldn't find it, but this did pop up. It contains a quote from Sashi on Demario Davis and Karlos Dansby.
Quote:
When the Cleveland Browns signed linebacker DeMario Davis during free agency, many knew that Karlos Dansby’s time with the team was coming to an end. So when the Browns officially released Dansby, he was ecstatic about the chance to play elsewhere. With Dansby set to sign with the Cincinnati Bengals, Browns executive Sasha Browns explained why they chose Davis over him. The Browns believe that Davis is an upgrade over what Dansby offers.
“We certainly want to be young and good and talented,” Brown said. “We talked to Karlos and told him we want to be a lot of things at that position, including dynamic and physical. We were able to add Demario. We’re really excited about him. He’s got an opportunity to be a tremendous leader for our defense through his play and his character and his preparation on and off the field. So we had that conversation with Karlos. We will always look to stay young and stay talented, no question.
“It’s not a scorched-earth policy or a policy just making decisions on a guy’s age. We want to look at who can contribute to us. Those guys may come in all different packages and all different ages. It just so happens Demario is a guy in his mid-20s and in his prime, has learned the game well and brought us an opportunity to upgrade that position.”
So it sounds like the Browns wanted to go younger, which is what a lot of teams around the NFL try to do. I’m pretty sure Dansby feels like he made an upgrade by joining the Bengals.
The Browns were justifying why they made a move, Karlos was/is throwing a sissy fit because he was hinted on being too old and got terminated.
Karlos new job likely isn't going to land him as a starter. I don't think either sides are really throwing sharp daggers, but it's time we move on. The Browns clearly have, time for Karlos to worry about being a Bengal and not reflecting to the media his stay with a crap staff and a crap defense on a team he's no longer a part of.
Shouldn't he be using his air time pimping his girly products he claims are for men? All JMO.
"There was just too much going on and guys having their own agendas," Dansby said, via Fox Sports. "(There was) plenty of talent across the board -- a lot of talent. Young talent, too. But we just couldn't put it together as a team.
"If you can't and guys don't believe in the system and the program, then you'll never be successful as a team because this is an ultimate team game. It takes everybody on the field working as one -- one common goal -- and we just couldn't put it all together to have everybody on the field on the same page."
We've heard that Pettine and his staff were kind of clueless, this corroborates that somewhat. Getting guys to buy in is one of the most important jobs of the coaching staff (and the veteran leaders).
"On Tuesday night, Dansby told SiriusXM NFL Radio his second season with the Cleveland Browns was "the worst season I've ever had to experience as a team" since entering the NFL"
"There was just too much going on and guys having their own agendas,"
... and so on. Granted yes, they're not dagger throwing comments, but he knows of all the outside smack and poor displays the media and outside has on our city - a real professional who claimed to be passionate and etc should know not to sit back and be yet another source of crap.
We all know Pettine and his good old buddy Jimmy O'Neil hacked the defense up and we sucked. We know that Karlos, worry about your new team dude.
It just gets annoying, ya know man?
Unfortunately from all I have heard and read this was pretty much the truth and it doesn't diss our current Browns just pretty much tells how chaotic last year was and why Haslam had to Reboot he would have been a BAD Owner if he did not.
jmho
Defense wins championships. Watson play your butt off! Go Browns! CHRIST HAS RISEN! GM Strong! & Stay safe everyone!
It sounds like MR. Haslam had no choice but to change things again. We had the wrong people as coaches and as a GM. He made a mistake and he is trying to correct it. Let's hope this time the right hires were made.
That doesn't sound too bad. I searched for it and couldn't find it, but this did pop up. It contains a quote from Sashi on Demario Davis and Karlos Dansby.
Quote:
When the Cleveland Browns signed linebacker DeMario Davis during free agency, many knew that Karlos Dansby’s time with the team was coming to an end. So when the Browns officially released Dansby, he was ecstatic about the chance to play elsewhere. With Dansby set to sign with the Cincinnati Bengals, Browns executive Sasha Browns explained why they chose Davis over him. The Browns believe that Davis is an upgrade over what Dansby offers.
“We certainly want to be young and good and talented,” Brown said. “We talked to Karlos and told him we want to be a lot of things at that position, including dynamic and physical. We were able to add Demario. We’re really excited about him. He’s got an opportunity to be a tremendous leader for our defense through his play and his character and his preparation on and off the field. So we had that conversation with Karlos. We will always look to stay young and stay talented, no question.
“It’s not a scorched-earth policy or a policy just making decisions on a guy’s age. We want to look at who can contribute to us. Those guys may come in all different packages and all different ages. It just so happens Demario is a guy in his mid-20s and in his prime, has learned the game well and brought us an opportunity to upgrade that position.”
So it sounds like the Browns wanted to go younger, which is what a lot of teams around the NFL try to do. I’m pretty sure Dansby feels like he made an upgrade by joining the Bengals.
Hmmmmm...............who is doing more dissing?
Vers, I have to disagree with you on this one. I don't think that Sashi was slamming Dansby. I think he was more responding to what the Browns are trying to do and that Davis fits the mold and Dansby does not.
I guess if you want to say he was slamming him, then okay, but how many times do we here coaches, and GM's make the same statement types, it's just part of the business. Carlos is like any athlete, me included though not professional, in that we do not like being told we are getting old of the game is passing us by. I think you know how fleeting NFL careers are just because of the shear violence of the game. Again, I don't believe he was trying to slam Carlos.
