( Paul Brown Stadium ) - The NFL has released the Bengals 2013 Preseason Schedule.

Aug 8: At Atlanta

Weekend of Aug 15-19: Home against Tennessee

Weekend of Aug 22-26: At Dallas

Aug 29 or 30: Home against Indianapolis.

The game against the Atlanta Falcons will be televised on ESPN and the game against the Dallas Cowboys will be the first time the Bengals have played a preseason game in Dallas.

Free agent cornerback Terence Newman will spend another year in Cincinnati.

Newman revealed on Twitter that he has chosen the Bengals, saying that the Raiders actually offered him more money but that he felt more comfortable in defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer’s system in Cincinnati.

“After much time and thought, I’m heading back to Cincy. And for those of you who think it was about money, the Raiders offered more,” Newman wrote. “I came in with Mike Zimmer and feel its only right that I leave as him coaching me. Thanks to Raiders Nation for showing me such love.”

Newman signed with the Bengals in 2012 and started 15 games for them. He entered the NFL as the No. 5 overall pick of the Cowboys in the 2003 NFL draft, at a time when Zimmer was the Cowboys’ defensive coordinator. Now Newman is sticking with Zimmer and sticking with the Bengals.

Several reports Thursday night say that former Tampa Bay Bucs QB Josh Johnson is headed to the Bengals. Tampa sports reporter Jenna Laine says Johnson gets a two year deal with Cincinnati.  Joe Reedy of the Enquirer confirmed the report.

Johnson will play under Jay Gruden, whose brother Jon drafted Johnson in 2008. Johnson play for Tampa Bay from 2008 to 2011 then signed with the Cleveland Browns in December 2012. 

Adam "Pacman" Jones will return to the Bengals next season. He confirmed this morning on Twitter that he and the Bengals had reached a deal:

Happy to say this morning that i agreed to a three year deal with the Bengals Stand up WHODEY!!!!!

— ADAm Pacman Jones (@REALPACMAN24) March 21, 2013

So thankful to be back apart of some that's going to be great!!!!!

— ADAm Pacman Jones (@REALPACMAN24) March 21, 2013

Following the Marvin Lewis edict to build from within, and not spend money on external players, the Bengals have kept another of their own.

According to Joe Reedy of the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Bengals have brought back linebacker Rey Maualuga.

He talked with the Cardinals, who signed linebackers Jasper Brinkley and Lorenzo Alexander, before staying with the team that chose him in the second round of the 2009 Draft.

How they deploy him will be interesting to see, as last year’s undrafted rookie Vontaze Burfict appears the better option in the middle.

Maualuga’s the sixth of the Bengals’ own free agents to re-sign this offseason

The Bengals have been pretty quiet since the start of free agency.

They’ve had a few players in for visits and watched a couple of others sign deals with other teams, but the only deal signed was defensive end Michael Johnson’s franchise tender. That could be changing soon.

Geoff Hobson of the team’s website reports that “indications” are that the Bengals are “closing in” on deals that will keep linebacker Rey Maualuga and cornerback Adam Jones in Cincinnati. Maualuga has drawn interest from the Cardinals and Giants, but remains a free agent and the Giants just signed Keith Rivers and Dan Connor. Bengals coaches said before free agency started that they’d like to have Maualuga back on a defense that carried the Bengals into the playoffs last season and his visits elsewhere likely set a price the Bengals are willing to pay.

Jones hasn’t garnered the same interest from others despite a solid 2012 season. He’d be a useful piece for them to bring back for sub packages and they’d also like to bring back Terence Newman. Newman visited the Raiders last week, but Hobson reports the team would like to get a deal done with him in the next week as well. The return of both corners along with Leon Hall and Dre Kirkpatrick would give the Bengals good depth in the secondary heading into next season.

Bengals DE Michael Johnson, who was designated March 1 as the team’s franchise player for 2013, today signed the one-year tender offer extended by the club as part of the NFL’s Collective Bargaining Agreement.

The signing ensures that Johnson will play for Cincinnati in 2013, at a salary specified by the CBA, and the franchise-player system allows Johnson and the Bengals until July 15 for the possibility of substituting a longer-term agreement.

            Last season, Johnson helped lead the Bengals to the playoffs with 11.5 sacks, second-most by any Cincinnati player since 1983 (exceeded only by DT Geno Atkins’ 12.5 last season). Johnson’s sack total from ’12 stands as the fifth-highest in Bengals history.

            “We are glad to have this accomplished and to know we’ll have Mike with us for all of our offseason work,” said Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis. “As I’ve said, making Mike our franchise player was part of the process to keep our defense together. It’s been a good defense the last couple years and with the right work it can be better. Mike has worked hard to improve himself every year during his time as a Bengal, and we have every reason to believe he will continue to grow as a leader and productive player. And we will stay in contact with Mike’s representatives about possibly doing a longer deal.”

            Johnson (6-7, 270; Georgia Tech) is a fifth-year NFL player in 2013. He was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week after a three-sack performance on Sept. 23 at Washington. A Bengals third-round draft choice in 2009, he has played in every regular-season and postseason game of his Cincinnati career (67 total), and he has regular-season career totals of 23 sacks, two interceptions and 18 passes defensed.

            “This guy has come up in our system, he plays about 85 percent of our snaps, and he’s the kind of guy we love to have around,” said defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer. “He’s hard-working and a great team player. He’s an outstanding run defender in addition to his pass rush production. He’s got great length and size, and great speed off the edge.”