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Corey Dillon is sent to New England in exchange for the Patriots' 56th overall pick in this weekend's draft.
Running back Corey Dillon got his wish Monday, finally leaving a Bengals team that hasn't won in 13 years.
The running back wound up on a championship team.
Dillon was traded to the New England Patriots for a second-round draft pick, ending his stellar and stormy career with Cincinnati. The Bengals built their struggling franchise around him in the 1990s, but tired of his complaining and lobbying to go somewhere else.
One of the NFL's most accomplished backs now gets to resuscitate his career with the defending Super Bowl champions, who filled their most glaring need in exchange for the 56th overall pick.
"I think everybody pretty much broke even,'' Dillon said. "We're talking about the New England Patriots. They're the defending Super Bowl champs. They got exactly what they wanted. I guess Cincinnati got exactly what they wanted. Corey Dillon got exactly what he wanted. I'm happy. It's a good deal all around, I think.''
Dillon, 29, wasn't happy during the Bengals' renaissance season under coach Marvin Lewis. While the Bengals stayed in playoff contention, Dillon groused about his lack of carries and lobbied for a trade.
"I set a couple of records in Cincinnati, so I'm always going to have love for Cincinnati and that fan base,'' Dillon said. "But today is a new day. I'm just going to finish what I started in Cincinnati in New England. It's the first time I've been this excited about a season since I've been in college.''
New England gets the type of back that it coveted for an unbalanced offense. The Patriots had the league's 27th-ranked rushing attack behind Antowain Smith and Kevin Faulk last season, forcing them to rely on Tom Brady's short, high-percentage completions to get points.
Brady led the Patriots to 15 straights wins, culminating in a 32-29 victory over Carolina in the Super Bowl. A week later, the Patriots decided not to exercise their contract option on Smith, who was their leading rusher for the last three seasons.
"Corey joins Kevin Faulk and our other very good backs to deepen an already competitive running back position,'' Patriots coach Bill Belichick said.
Dillon agreed to restructure the last two years on his contract, softening the Patriots' salary cap hit for 2004, in order to make the deal.
During his seven seasons in Cincinnati, Dillon became one of the NFL's top running backs and one of its most enigmatic figures. He complained from time to time about being on a losing team, but changed his mind and agreed to a five-year, $26 million deal before the 2001 season.
When the Bengals finally turned competitive last season, Dillon complained about his reduced role and again decided that he wanted out. Dillon's groin injury early in the season allowed backup Rudi Johnson to emerge and prompted Lewis to share the job between the two.
Lewis tried to get Dillon to take more of a leadership role, but was rebuffed. Dillon's public complaints in the middle of a turnaround season essentially sealed his fate.
"Corey has been a very productive back for the Bengals for a number of years,'' Lewis said in a statement. "But you don't get a second-round pick without giving something up, and we believe this clearly is the move that's in our team's best interests.''
Lewis declined to comment beyond the statement. The trade brought Cincinnati the 24th pick in the second round and gave the Bengals seven picks in the first four rounds overall. New England had obtained the pick from Miami.
Dillon was a second-round pick in 1997 -- the 43rd overall -- and broke Jim Brown's rookie record by running for 246 yards against Tennessee. He set the single-game record with 278 yards against Denver in 2000, a mark eclipsed last season when Baltimore's Jamal Lewis had 295 yards against Cleveland.
Heading into last season, Dillon already was the Bengals' career rushing leader and one of only four players in NFL history to run for 1,000 yards in each of his first six seasons. The groin injury - the first significant injury of his career - limited him to 11 starts and 541 yards last season.
A traffic accident also prompted the Bengals to declare him inactive for one game.
After a loss to Cleveland left the Bengals at 8-8 and ended their season, Dillon threw his helmet, shoulder pads and cleats into the stands at Paul Brown Stadium. He also cleaned out his locker.
Dillon renewed his push for a trade last month by going on a national sports talk show dressed in a Raiders jersey. He also lashed out at Pro Bowl offensive tackle Willie Anderson, calling him "a bum.'' Anderson had criticized Dillon for being selfish while the team was in playoff contention.
Cincinnati hasn't had a winning record since 1990, the longest such streak in the NFL.
Dillon has run for 8,061 yards and 45 touchdowns in his seven seasons, averaging 4.3 yards per carry.
Source: AP