DE Odom joins Bengals

Defensive end Antwan Odom signed a five-year deal worth $29.5 million Monday night with the Cincinnati Bengals, their first move in free agency to fix their biggest problem.

Odom was coming off a career-best season with 16 starts and eight sacks with the Tennessee Titans, who drafted him in 2004. But the Titans took a risk in letting Odom test the free agent market, and they lost him to Cincinnati, which gave the four-year veteran $11.5 million in guaranteed money in the package.

The Bengals let defensive end Justin Smith leave as a free agent and failed to pull off a trade with Detroit for defensive tackle Shaun Rogers. Their defense has been one of the NFL's worst over the last three seasons, and they made the line a priority in the offseason.

In Tennessee, Odom was overshadowed by Pro Bowl teammates Kyle Vanden Bosch and Albert Haynesworth. Agent Richard Rosa said the chance to play for Cincinnati coach Marvin Lewis and defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer were factors in Odom's decision.

"They made him very comfortable with the chance to be very productive with Robert Geathers on the other end," Rosa said.

Geathers led the Bengals with 10ˆ½ sacks in 2006, the most by any Bengals player since 1983. He got a six-year contract extension that paid him $14 million last year in salary and bonuses.

When the linebacking corps was decimated by injury, the Bengals moved Geathers to an outside linebacker spot for four games. He finished the season with 3ˆ½ sacks, most on the team.

Odom was a second-round draft pick out of Alabama in 2004, and he has started 34 of 54 games in his career, with 152 total tackles. He had eight of his 12ˆ½ career sacks in 2007, and he has eight tackles for losses with three forced fumbles and two fumbles recovered in his career.

But 2007 was his best season opposite Vanden Bosch. He had a career-high 29 quarterback pressures with his eight sacks.

Odom will have a chance to replace Smith, who left Cincinnati as a free agent and signed for a reported $45 million deal with $20 million in guarantees over the weekend with San Francisco.