Things seem to be working out for Karlos Dansby, who after being released by the Cleveland Browns. Mentioned a number of teams he’d like to play for. The Cincinnati Bengals were one of them, and while the Seattle Seahawks have shown interest recently, he’s much closer to simply switching Ohio teams.
Dansby is meeting with the Bengals which obviously doesn’t promise anything, but is a sign both sides have some interest in each other. The Bengals do have quite a lot of options at linebacker: Rey Maualuga, Vontaze Burfict, Vincent Rey, and A.J. Hawk to name a few, but they did lose Emmanuel Lamur in free agency, which means they do need to fill a hole and Dansby, who has said he’s simply looking for a team that can contend, which makes sense at his age, might fit in nicely.
Dansby, 34, had a pretty productive season with the Browns, playing in all 16 games, finishing with 109 tackles and intercepted three passes, two of them returned for a touchdown. Dansby has always been quite the ballhawk with 19 career interceptions and at least one in nine of his 12 seasons in the NFL, taking six of them all the way for a touchdown on the other end. He also had six deflected passes and three forced fumbles.
The Seahawks showed some interest in him previously, which could mean that the news of him getting closer to the Bengals will galvanize some call to action in the Northwest. Dansby also mentioned the Green Bay Packers as a team he would love to play for, but the Packers haven’t shown any interest, and it is quite rare for them to sign a free agent with 12 years of experience on his CV.
Dansby has been in the NFL since 2004. He played for the Arizona Cardinals from 2004 to 2009, including their Super Bowl run in 2008, ending with a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was in Miami for three seasons with the Dolphins, then back to Arizona for one year in 2013 followed by two seasons with the Browns. He has missed only 12 games in his NFL career.