May 21, 2008

Less than a month after he was reinstated by the NFL, LB Odell Thurman was released by the Bengals on Monday. The way we hear it, Thurman's attendance at the Bengals' offseason workouts was not as frequent as the team would have hoped, and that likely played a role in the club's decision. “The NFL provided Odell the opportunity to earn his way back onto our team, but we have not seen the right steps taken by him,” Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis said Monday. “With our offseason work in progress and new talent added at our linebacker position, we’ve determined it’s best to keep moving in a direction that does not include Odell.” With Thurman out of the picture, the Bengals' LB depth takes a hit. Rookie Keith Rivers is the likely starter on the weak side, with veteran Dhani Jones the favorite to start in the middle and Ahmad Brooks and Rashad Jeanty the top options on the strong side. But the Bengals do not have many proven options at linebacker beyond those players. Were Thurman to have made a successful return in Cincinnati, such depth worries would have been less of an issue.