CINCINNATI -- From start to finish in his comparatively brief free-agency process, Clint Boling felt there was only one team in the race for his services.
The Cincinnati Bengals.
The Vikings, Falcons and Jets were among the other teams interested, and talked with Boling's representatives during the NFL's legal tampering window, but none of those conversations was very serious, the fifth-year offensive guard said Wednesday afternoon inside the only NFL locker room he's known.
"We have a real good thing here," said Boling, hours after signing a five-year, $26 million second contract with the Bengals. "I want to continue to build on that."
He believes with the moves the Bengals have made and the others still to come, the team can improve upon what it's done of late.
Those are the same sentiments Boling had the day after the Bengals' 2014 season ended with a 26-10 playoff loss in Indianapolis. As he walked out of Paul Brown Stadium for the final time before testing free agency, Boling said he wanted to come back if the Bengals wanted him. A member of Cincinnati's 2011 draft class, he's one of the many young players who has only known regular-season success and winning seasons while in stripes. He felt proud of that.
Not long after, coaches made it known they wanted Boling back. They wanted to return their complete starting offensive line as they try to keep quarterback Andy Dalton comfortable, and build on their late-season rushing success.
Asked about the Bengals' comparatively busy early efforts in free agency, Boling paused before flipping the question. Though happy to have met new linebacker A.J. Hawk and excited about swing tackle Eric Winston being re-signed, his thoughts also were on two key players the Bengals wish they had all of last season.
"You got guys like Tyler Eifert, Marvin Jones, those guys who got hurt," Boling said. "You're essentially getting free agents almost when they come back. They're guys who missed a year, and they're coming back this year."
Jones had a series of ankle and foot injuries last offseason and preseason that ballooned into bigger issues once the regular season began. After aggravating the ankle injury in practice the same week he was returning from the preseason foot injury, Jones was put on injured reserve, shut down for the entire season. He never dressed in 2014.
Eifert did. But only once. A right elbow dislocation on just his eighth play of the season opener helped to cut short his season. The three catches for 37 yards he had in the first quarter of the game made for a promising start. He seemed poised to live up to the high expectations for his sophomore season.
Before the end of the year, with his elbow healing slower than expected, Eifert also underwent surgery to fix a nagging shoulder injury. That surgery formally ended his season.
Like Jones, Eifert's rehab period appears to be winding down. Both pass-catchers are hopeful about participating in minicamp and organized team activities (OTAs) later this spring.
Because of the season they missed, it is almost like the Bengals are getting an extra infusion of offensive talent for 2015 without having to spend anymore money.
"Those are some special players that we'll have back this year," Boling said.
Based on what its paying him, it's clear Bengals management also considers Boling one of those players.