FanHouse

The Cincinnati Bengals will release linebacker Odell Thurman today. The news was first reported by Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, citing an unnamed league source, and has also been reported by Steve Wyche, citing Thurman's agent, on ESPN First Take.

Thurman is a talented player who was the Bengals' second-round pick out of Georgia in 2005 and started 15 games as a rookie. But he has had a long history of off-field problems, both with drugs and with the law, and hasn't played an NFL game since then.

So why did the Bengals choose to cut him today? Both Florio and Wyche noted that Thurman has missed some of the Bengals' organized team activities while attending to family matters related to the death of his grandmother. To cut Thurman because of that would be rather heartless -- and it would also technically be a violation of the NFL's collective bargaining agreement, which says organized team activities are voluntary. But one way or another, Thurman is out of work.

Previously at Fanhouse:
Odell Thurman Thinks the NFL Discriminates Against people With Disabilities
Odell Thurman Violates Probation
Odell Thurman Accused of Assault