[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Cincy

3/6/06

Kitna may be moving on

BY MARK CURNUTTE | ENQUIRER STAFF WRITER

<!--ARTICLE BODY TEXT-->There's little chance Jon Kitna will re-sign with the Bengals.

With the New York Jets at the front of an active market for his services, Kitna very well might get his chance to start again at quarterback.

Kitna might sign relatively quickly if free agency begins as scheduled at 12:01 a.m. Monday, and the Bengals probably would strike quickly to sign a third healthy quarterback for spring and summer field work.

Kitna threw for single-season career highs in touchdowns (26) and yards (3,591) as a starter for Cincinnati in 2003, then gracefully accepted the backup role to Carson Palmer.

"I was OK with (a backup role) the first year (2004)," Kitna said Friday. "Last year, it started in training camp - that desire, the competitive nature, was there."

He said his religious faith is calling him to new work.

"Our ministry in Cincinnati was far greater than I could have expected," he said. "I'm looking forward to the next phase. We did a lot of teen-age Bible study here. The Lord's calling us to do a couple's ministry on a new team."
Kitna and his wife, Jennifer, had their fourth child, a son, after the end of the season.

"It's kind of a transition, a break for my family," said Kitna, a Bengal for the past five seasons. "It's bigger than football."

The Kitna market is so hot that the Baltimore Ravens are expected to back out because they don't want to get into a bidding war.

COMBINE VISITS: The Bengals conducted the allotted 60 personal interviews with draft prospects at the scouting combine.

Among the players the Bengals met with were Miami (Fla.) wide receiver/cornerback/kick returner Devin Hester, Georgia Tech linebacker Gerris Wilkinson, Oklahoma defensive back Chijioke Onyenegecha, Georgia safety Greg Blue, Michigan defensive tackle Gabe Watson and Texas tight end David Thomas.

Hester said the Bengals talked with him about the possibility of playing both ways, which Hester said he would welcome.

GOOD FIT: Add this name to the list of free-agent defensive tackles who might look good in the Bengals' lineup: Seattle's Rocky Bernard. He had 81/2 sacks in the regular season and two more in the playoffs.

The only knock on Bernard is he isn't exceptional against the run, which is the Bengals' most consistent shortcoming.