"When Laveranues Coles parted ways last week with the Jets, he said he'd "come crawling back" if the free-agent market didn't yield a palatable contract. Ironically, he found financial happiness with an organization known for its thrift - the Bengals.

Coles, who also weighed an offer from the Bills, signed Wednesday with the Bengals - a four-year, $28 million deal, according to a league source. Specifics weren't available, but he will receive more than $6 million in guarantees, the source said.

That number is important because Coles, in an unusual deal with the Jets, forfeited a $6 million guarantee to have the final year of his contract voided. The Jets spurned Coles' request for a long-term deal and essentially let him buy his freedom, clearing his salary off their cap.

Coles, 31, may have been better served by playing for the $6 million and becoming a free agent in 2010, but he was determined to shop around. In Cincinnati, he will replace T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who bolted for the Seahawks. Coles and Chad Ocho Cinco should be one of the most compelling receiving tandems in the league.

Coles took a subtle jab at retired QB Brett Favre.

"I'm coming off a pretty good year, but I know I can do better," he said in a statement released by the Bengals. "Any time you come into a situation with a quarterback like Carson Palmer, you're going to think you can bump up those numbers a little more.""