The Bengals today put the franchise tag on kicker Shayne Graham, basically meaning that he’ll be back as their kicker in 2009, and that if he isn’t inked to a long-term deal he’ll sign a one-year deal for a salary equal to the average of the five highest-paid kickers from last season.

The move also likely points to the end for T.J. Houshmandzadeh, who would have cost the team a ton more money as a franchised wide out. The average salary of a franchised wide out is $9.88, compared to just $2.48 million for an averaged franchise kicker.

Graham’s 85.6 percent career field goal accuracy ranks fourth all-time in the NFL. He holds several Bengals kicking records, including consecutive field goals (21), season field goal percentage (91.2) and consecutive extra points (158). He is second on the all-time Bengals scoring list with 682 points.

“Shayne has consistently performed at a high level for us, and we expect that same performance in 2009 and hopefully beyond,” coach Marvin Lewis said.