The Bengals sign high risk players. That's not news to anybody. Sometimes the risk pays off, such as in the case of Cedric Benson and Tank Johnson, and sometimes the risk doesn't pay off, like in the case of Odell Thurman or A.J. Nicholson.

Joe Reedy wrote something today that shouldn't really come as a surprise to anybody. The Bengals lead all NFL teams in arrests since 2000. Reedy wrote:

According to the Union-Tribune there have been 31 arrests involving Bengals since 2000. They are not the runaway leader though. Minnesota trails by one with 30 while Denver, Jacksonville and Kansas City are tied for third with 25.

Twenty of the Bengals' arrests came between 2000 and 2005 (which was tied for first with Jacksonville) but there have been only nine arrests of Bengals players since 2007 (which is less than Jacksonville, Denver and Miami and is tied with the Steelers).

Let me make something clear, this is not me complaining. After the initial shock of the Adam Jones signing, I'm on board and excited to see what the guy can do for the Bengals secondary.

This is me taking note that high risk can be high reward. There were some people that didn't like Benson coming to the Bengals because he had a couple arrests under his belt and he was a big disappointment in Chicago. However, we all watched Benson lift up the Bengals offense, place them on his shoulders and carry them over 1,200 yards on the way to a 10-6 record. Worth it.

If the Bengals can get guys like that at a cheapish price who produce and help put the Bengals in the playoffs without screwing up the vibe in the locker room then I'm all for it. I don't think any of us really care if the Bengals roster resembles the "island of misfit toys" as long as they win and continue to stay out of jail for the most part.

Here's the complete list:

Team Total Since ‘05 Since ‘07 Cincinnati 31 20 9 Minnesota 30 17 7 Jacksonville 25 20 15 Denver 25 17 12 Kansas City 25 13 5 Miami 24 16 12 San Diego 22 16 7 Tennessee 22 19 6 Cleveland 20 11 8 Tampa Bay 18 12 10 Chicago 18 11 5 Indianapolis 17 12 7 New Orleans 17 10 7 Pittsburgh 16 13 9 Carolina 15 6 6 Baltimore 15 6 4 Atlanta 13 11 10 Buffalo 13 8 7 Seattle 13 10 6 Oakland 12 4 4 Green Bay 12 6 3 NY Giants 11 8 7 Washington 11 6 4 New England 11 5 4 Houston 9 6 5 Dallas 9 4 2 Arizona 9 3 2 San Francisco 8 3 2 Detroit 7 5 2 Philadelphia 7 4 2 NY Jets 7 3 2 St. Louis 6 5 4

Source: San Diego Union-Tribune