Offiong, who admitted "I blew it at St James' Park - I got too big for my boots", replaces another former Newcastle forward – Michael Bridges – at Brunton Park.
I've always had a soft spot for Bridges, after seeing him and his best mate Lee Clark singing anti-Sunderland songs one Sunday in The Vaults in the Bigg Market.
Richard Offiong: "You have to earn the right to play, and when I get the chance it's up to me to take it.
"It was always my ambition to come down and prove myself in the English league.
"I didn't give myself the best showing last time, but now I've been in Scotland and done OK, I'm ready to give it a better shot.
"It's ideal for me that I will be living back home in Newcastle, but it is for football reasons that I have come to Carlisle.
"There is a lot of potential here, and it was the right opportunity at the right time.
"The geographical side of it is just a bonus. The team is going places, and hopefully I can kick on and do the business for Carlisle."