The Facts: The Bengals won a bidding war Tuesday for Kelly, bringing him back to Cincinnati as the starter for a fifth straight season. The Bengals don’t confirm contracts unless they are signed, but agent Jimmy Sexton said Kelly has agreed to return in a three-year deal worth $9 million.
Diehards Line:Kelly has helped anchor a ground game that produced two franchise-best seasons for running back Rudi Johnson and his 4,221 yards over the last three seasons. But as Bengals.com editor Geoff Hobson suggested, Kelly's biggest asset may be his towering presence in the locker room. So towering that quarterback Carson Palmer lobbied from the day the offseason started to get him back.