Bengals continue housecleaning, cut Thurman

Troubled Cincinnati linebacker Odell Thurman, reinstated last month after missing two seasons due to suspension, was cut by the Bengals Monday.

“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 coach Marvin Lewis said in a statement. “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.”

Specifics are cloudy at this point. Thurman didn’t attend three days of voluntary workouts last week while attending his grandmother’s funeral, according to the Associated Press. He was expected back at the end of the week but stayed back to attend to the family situation.

Hard to imagine a team cutting a player for attending a funeral. But the move does make it seem as though the Bengals might be attempting to resuscitate its image – 11 Cincinnati players had been arrested in two seasons. Last month they jettisoned Chris Henry, the uber-talented, oft-arrested wide receiver who had a real chance to make some noise this season if only he could keep from getting arrested.

In a story posted at Bengals.com a Thurman representative says the linebacker was disappointed by the move and that several other teams have expressed interest in him. I would think so. He had five interceptions as a rookie in 2005, tops among rookies that year, and led the Bengals in tackles. Many a team could use stats like that on their defense, assuming Thurman can shake off two years worth of rust.

Meanwhile the Bengals depth chart at linebacker is filled with rookies, veterans with little experience and a bunch of nearly over-the-hill has-beens. Along with the Henry cut, the frustration expressed by wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh, and the threatened holdout of wide receiver Chad Johnson, this looks to be a team in disarray heading into training camp.