CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bengals have signed veteran guard Travelle Wharton, who spent his first eight NFL seasons with Carolina.

The 6-foot-4, 312-pound Wharton started all 99 games in which he played with the Panthers. In 16 games in 2011, he started 15 at left guard and one at left tackle on an offense sparked by top overall draft pick Cam Newton. Newton won the Offensive Rookie of the Year award.

A third-round draft selection in 2004, Wharton could replace Nate Livings, who signed with Dallas.

CINCINNATI (AP) The Cincinnati Bengals have signed veteran guard Travelle Wharton, who spent his first eight NFL seasons with Carolina.

The 6-foot-4, 312-pound Wharton started all 99 games in which he played with the Panthers. In 16 games last season, he started 15 at left guard and one at left tackle on an offense sparked by top overall draft pick Cam Newton. Newton won the Offensive Rookie of the Year award.

A third-round draft selection in 2004, Wharton could replace Nate Livings, who signed with Dallas.

Read More: Cedric Benson (RB – CIN), Cincinnati Bengals

The New England Patriots allowed RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis to hit free agency and there were reportedly multiple teams interested in his services. One of those teams has now been identified — the Cincinnati Bengals. Per Jason Cole of Yahoo! Sports, Green-Ellis will visit the Bengals.

Cincinnati has a ton of salary cap space and the’yre losing RB Cedric Benson in free agency so Green-Ellis makes a lot of sense there. If signed by the Bengals, he would enter one of the toughest divisions to rush the ball in with the Steelers and Ravens both in the AFC North.

Green-Ellis was originally an undrafted free agent in 2008 and, believe it or not, he has never fumbled. Not once. That’s a pretty incredible statistic for a guy who’s been in the league for four years. He also has 24 rushing touchdowns in the last two seasons. His career best rushing yardage came in 2010 when he surpassed the 1,000 yard mark.

For more Bengals free agency updates, visit SB Nation’s Cincy Jungle.

CINCINNATI (AP) – Former Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones has been released from a year’s probation after completing court-ordered community service 10 months early.

Court documents show a judge in Cincinnati released Jones from probation on Friday.

Jones pleaded guilty in January to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct. The 28-year-old was accused in court documents of being disorderly, shouting profanities and trying to pull away as police officers arrested him at a Cincinnati bar in July. He apologized in court for his conduct.

Jones had been ordered to complete 50 hours of community service in addition to probation and pay a $250 fine plus court costs.

Jones’ career has been marked by repeated arrests. He’s now a free agent after completing a 2-year deal with Cincinnati.

He also has played for Tennessee and Dallas.

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CINCINNATI (AP)—Former Cincinnati Bengals cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones
has been released from a year’s probation after completing court-ordered
community service 10 months early.

Court documents show a judge in Cincinnati released Jones from probation on
Friday.

Jones pleaded guilty in January to a misdemeanor charge of disorderly
conduct. The 28-year-old was accused in court documents of being disorderly,
shouting profanities and trying to pull away as police officers arrested him at
a Cincinnati bar in July. He apologized in court for his conduct.

Jones had been ordered to complete 50 hours of community service in addition
to probation and pay a $250 fine plus court costs.

Jones’ career has been marked by repeated arrests. He’s now a free agent
after completing a two-year deal with Cincinnati.

He also has played for Tennessee and Dallas.

CINCINNATI — The Cincinnati Bengals have hired another former coach back to the team.The team said Wednesday that former offensive line coach Jim McNally is being brought aboard as a consultant.McNally, 68, was the offensive line coach for both Super Bowl teams during his tenure from 1981 to 1994.”It’s a fresh set of eyes from afar that can look at our team and other teams and offer valuable insights,” said offensive line coach Paul Alexander on Bengals.com. “I’m excited about it. We’re talking about the guy that taught me pro football.”McNally retired after four years with the Bills in 2007, but has recently been a consultant for the Jets.”Once a Bengal, always a Bengal,” McNally said on Bengals.com. “I’ve got my daughters still in Cincinnati and those were great years for me and my family. I’m excited to be back working with Paul.”

Every morning, grab a cup of coffee and get your AFC North wake-up call here:

Now that Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and offensive coordinator Todd Haley have reportedly spoken to each other, let’s move onto another AFC North situation where the sides aren’t talking — running back Cedric Benson and the Cincinnati Bengals.

Benson becomes an unrestricted free agent in 20 days (on March 13). “We haven’t had any talks about a new deal,” Benson told Sirius NFL Radio last night (via the Cincinnati Enquirer).

In his first season with offensive coordinator Jay Gruden, Benson finished with 273 carries, which was his fewest since 2008.

“We had a chance to establish an identity and we kind of got in our rhythm at times and there were times that were tough,” Benson said. “You can look at the statistics. We didn’t stick on what the offense was built on. When we had Carson [Palmer] and Chad [Ochocinco], we kept a strong identity in the run game and we kind of got away from it and didn’t let that part of the offense grow and bit the bullet on it a little bit.”

Hensley’s slant: It was expected that Benson and the Bengals would have a mutual parting of the ways this year, and his comments only confirm that. This doesn’t mean that the Bengals will hand the starting job to Bernard Scott. The Bengals should address the running back position in the draft or free agency, and perhaps both.

BROWNS: ESPN’s Todd McShay considers Oklahoma State’s Justin Blackmon, who could be a first-round target of the Browns, among the second tier of wide receivers along with Dez Bryant, Michael Crabtree and Julio Jones. “He compares to Julio Jones in that, he’s a physical receiver that’s ready to come in and I think he can contribute right away, knows how to use his body very well to shield defenders from the ball and position guys away,” McShay said in a recent conference call, via the team’s website. “He’s got strong hands, but still, every once-in-a-while, has a focus drop and Julio Jones was the same way. I think Jones attacked the ball a little bit better. He belongs in the top of the class at wide receiver this year and in the top 10 picks, I believe.” Hensley’s slant: It’s funny that Blackmon compares to Julio Jones because the Browns received five draft picks from the Atlanta Falcons (including picks in the first and fourth round this year) by passing on Jones last year. The Browns can’t ignore the wide receiver position again this year, whether it’s taking Blackmon in the top five or Baylor’s Kendall Wright with their second first-round pick. This offense needs playmakers in the passing game.

RAVENS: The Baltimore Sun’s Mike Preston said no one should panic about the contract talks with quarterback Joe Flacco and running back Ray Rice because they’re staying with the Ravens. “Flacco and Rice aren’t going anywhere because the Ravens designated them cornerstones last season when they cut receivers Derrick Mason and Todd Heap,” Preston wrote. “Every time there was an issue on offense last season, Rice and Flacco became the spokesmen. The question is, when will the Ravens pay Rice and Flacco?” Hensley’s slant: The pecking order looks like it’s been set. Even though team officials are expected to talk to the agents of both players at the NFL combine, the Ravens have made it a priority to get a contract extension with Flacco because they can put a relatively cheap franchise tag on Rice. Based on the longevity of quarterbacks compared to running backs, Flacco’s contract will also be a more long-term one.

STEELERS: The Steelers showed their commitment to Willie Colon as their right tackle by restructuring his contract, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The move created $2.85 million in salary-cap space, the paper reported. Colon, who has missed 31 of the past 32 regular-season games due to injuries, has four years remaining on a five-year, $29 million contract that he signed in August. Hensley’s slant: It was assumed that Colon would regain his starting job at right tackle because Marcus Gilbert is shifting to left tackle in 2012. The Steelers are now around $8 million over the cap. How much Pittsburgh can get under the cap will dictate whether wide receiver Mike Wallace gets a first-round tender ($2.7 million) or the franchise tag ($9.6 million). It looks like the Steelers are leaning toward putting a first-round tender on Wallace, which would leave them vulnerable to losing him.

CINCINNATI Rookie quarterback Andy Dalton missed practice Wednesday with the flu, leaving backup Bruce Gradkowski to run the Cincinnati Bengals offence at Paul Brown Stadium.

Coach Marvin Lewis said Dalton should be back on Thursday. He’s expected to play Saturday at Houston’s Reliant Stadium, where he’s never lost. The second-round pick grew up in the suburbs and played two games there in high school and another for TCU.

The Bengals (9-7) will be trying to get their first playoff win since the 1990 season when they play the Houston Texans. Reliant Stadium has a retractable roof, so weather won’t be an issue. The challenge is to stay healthy until then.

The temperature was -5 C with a wind chill of -10 C when they hit the field Tuesday. On Tuesday night, rookie receiver A.J. Green from Georgia tweeted: “It was so cold at practice today … I couldn’t feel my toes.”

It was somewhat better Wednesday, with a temperature of 2 C and a wind chill of -2 C when practice ended. Players wore hoods under their helmets to try to stay warm.

Asked if it was the coldest weather he’d ever had for practice, Green said, “Oh yeah, definitely, by far. By far.”

Temperatures around 4 C are forecast for Thursday’s practice.

The Bengals are the only northern team without their own covered practice field either in use or under construction. They have the right under their stadium lease to cover one of their adjacent practice fields, but would have to pay for it.

The University of Cincinnati approached the NFL team about jointly building a bubble-covered field when Brian Kelly was coach, but the Bengals declined. The university then built a practice field with a removable bubble on campus. The Bengals could rent the bubble for four hours at a standard rate of US$2,500.

The concern Wednesday was getting Dalton healthy and ready for one more cold-weather practice followed by a trip home. He grew up in the Houston suburb of Katy and attended games at Reliant as a fan.

“You get a chance to play in Reliant Stadium as a high school kid, it’s a really cool thing,” Dalton said Tuesday. “That’s how Texas high school (football) is. You get to play in NFL stadiums.”

For the first time since the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, a playoff game will feature two rookie quarterbacks. T.J. Yates, a fifth-round pick, took over after Matt Schaub and Matt Leinart got hurt and led the Texans to the playoffs.

Yates led a winning 80-yard touchdown drive in the final three minutes for a 20-19 victory at Paul Brown Stadium on Dec. 11. He and Dalton talked on the field afterward.

“It was a big, game-winning drive for him,” Dalton said. “It’s good to see rookies — my class — doing well.

“It was unfortunate that it was against us.”

The overriding question with a rookie quarterback is how he’ll handle playoff pressure. Dalton has the experience advantage over Yates because he won the starting job during training camp and started all 16 games. Yates started the last five games.

“I have all the confidence in Andy,” cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones said. “Andy is a well-composed guy, doesn’t get rattled by too much.

“He likes to win and likes the pressure on him.”

Dalton looked like a rookie during a 31-24 loss at Baltimore on Nov. 20, throwing three interceptions that helped the Ravens get ahead 31-14 in the fourth quarter. He was much more careful over the last six games, throwing five touchdowns and only one interception in 184 attempts.

During the loss to Houston, Dalton and the offence had a miserable second half, blowing a 16-3 lead. They managed 81 yards in the second half, including only nine yards on 14 rushes. Dalton fumbled on the second play of the half to start Houston’s comeback and was 7-of-11 passing for 77 yards after halftime.

Dalton has been average overall much of the time, but that’s been good enough to get Cincinnati into the playoffs. Four times he’s led the Bengals to victories with fourth-quarter comebacks.

“I don’t think pressure’s really been an issue for him,” offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth said. “The greatest competitors are the guys that want to win.

“They want the heat. That’s a good thing — it drives them. I think Andy’s one of those guys.”

NOTES: Defensive end Frostee Rucker (shoulder) also was among those missing practice. Tailback Cedric Benson (foot), centre Kyle Cook (foot) and safety Chris Crocker (knee) were limited. … Cincinnati has played Houston only one other time in the post-season, beating the Oilers 41-14 after the 1990 season. That was the Bengals’ last playoff win. They’re 0-2 since.

The Associated Press