Pollack Done

[HoosierCat]

http://www.bengals.com/news/news.asp?story_id=6737

Not unexpected. Best o' luck, David.

[GregCook]

http://www.bengals.com/news/news.asp?story_id=6737

Not unexpected. Best o' luck, David.

Good news, I'd hate to see him paralyzed.

it was a no brainer. He's got a huge financial windfall with his 1st round signing bonus. He got married, he has kids and he's smart enough to know there is life after football. Good move.

[HairOnFire]

Fair or unfair, I gave up on Pollack when he couldn't make decision immediately after doctors granted him medical clearance to play again. Simply put, if you truly want to play football again you don't need more time to make a decision you've already had more than a year to think about. However, you may need more time before walking away.

Best wishes, and as always....thanks for all the fish.

[Wraith]

Good Luck David, we hardly knew ye!

[BengalByTheBay]

Yet more fodder for the "snakebit franchise" conversation. Vaya con Dios, amigo.

[Vulture]

Good Luck David!!

[BengalszoneBilly]

It was his choice of course, but it sure would have been great to see him and Thurman back on the field at the same time.

Anyway...Thanks Dave.

[Green 66]

I wish him well and that he is successful in all his future endeavours. I would loved to have watched him and Odell as well this year. I always thought that he might have been the spark on defense that was needed on and off the field to get guys motivated. As a result i think he will be one heck of a coach now that he is done playing.

Mike Green

Waynesville Ohio

[mgi]

Maybe if he hadn't spent all that time fasting, he would have felt healthy enough to play.

[Ickey44]

I miss him already

[BengalChamps]

Maybe if he hadn't spent all that time fasting, he would have felt healthy enough to play.

Not funny.

Wish you well David. Wish we could have seen more of you. My favorite Pollack moment was sacking Toothlisberger in the playoffs!

[agreen_112]

Well, I hate to be right here and I'm sorry for David but add another BUST to the list of wasted first day draft picks.

[duus]

Well, I hate to be right here and I'm sorry for David but add another BUST to the list of wasted first day draft picks.

Although I do understand your point, I personally cannot find a way to include a single career-ending injury case in the category of BUST. In my mind, a true draft pick bust is based upon lack of production on the field (i.e. Akili Smith). Second to this are those who simply seem injury-prone (i.e. KiJana Carter and Chris Perry). All are BUSTs ... with the Akili Smith type being the truest BUST. David Pollack is a hard one for me to categorize as a BUST. His play, albeit very limited, showed me he had all of the potential in the world to live up to his pick.

Enjoy your life Mr. Pollack. You're a man of true priorities. I respect that.

[agreen_112]

Well, I hate to be right here and I'm sorry for David but add another BUST to the list of wasted first day draft picks.

Although I do understand your point, I personally cannot find a way to include a single career-ending injury case in the category of BUST. In my mind, a true draft pick bust is based upon lack of production on the field (i.e. Akili Smith). Second to this are those who simply seem injury-prone (i.e. KiJana Carter and Chris Perry). All are BUSTs ... with the Akili Smith type being the truest BUST. David Pollack is a hard one for me to categorize as a BUST. His play, albeit very limited, showed me he had all of the potential in the world to live up to his pick.

Enjoy your life Mr. Pollack. You're a man of true priorities. I respect that.

Bust = Wasted draft pick IMO. Pollack was a BUST from the start. There were some who thought he wouldn't amount to much in the NFL, in a sense, they were right.

[UofLnMU]

This just kills me...for a number of reasons. I loved him as a Bulldog, but then when he got to come in as the sort of "heart" guy that the Bengals seem to rarely get, I wet myself. All-in-all, if it means that he'll live a more fulfilling life, God bless 'im.

[bengalsfansince68]

Pollack was a BUST from the start.

Aww, crissakes Green.

Just when you seem to finally, FINALLY, be coming to the realization that there is no St. Chad, you say something as rock-dumb as this.

By the end of David's rookie season, I was at long last seeing a Bengals player with the ability to get after the QB. I could not have been more excited about David Pollack going in to the '06 season.

You can, in hindsight, declare him a wasted pick and you can equate that to bust, but Pollack did not become a wasted pick or a bust until after he broke his neck. Most definitely NOT before.

To suggest otherwise, as you did, is ludicrous.

I have come to expect ludicrous absurdity from you, sir.

Thanks for yet another laugh at Green moment. Phucking priceless!

[volcom69]

You know what sucks the most about this is here is a guy who wants to play football who wants to play for this team, but unfortunaly he cant because of his injury. It really makes me sick when i see this, and then we have a player like Chad Johnson who could give a rats a** about this team about the teammates. Wow sick just sick, anyways good luck David in all you do in life.

[mgilgris]

How does this affect future cap space? Does he get paid his full contract. I hate to be like that but the bengals need all the signing cash they can get.

[HoosierCat]

Pollack's deal was for 5 years and was for up to $13 million, with $7.65 million guaranteed.

Per the cap page over at go-bengals, Pollack was scheduled to make $860k in salary and have $1.3 million in amortized bonus for a total cap hit of $2.2 million. Obviously they aren't paying the salary, and Pollack will have to pay back the $1.3 million (actually, $2.6 million since he has to give back 2009's bonus money too). But I don't know whether the bonus money refund counts this year or next. But the Bengals should pick up somewhere between $860k and $2.2 million in cap space this year.

[kingwilly]

Well, I hate to be right here and I'm sorry for David but add another BUST to the list of wasted first day draft picks.

Although I do understand your point, I personally cannot find a way to include a single career-ending injury case in the category of BUST. In my mind, a true draft pick bust is based upon lack of production on the field (i.e. Akili Smith). Second to this are those who simply seem injury-prone (i.e. KiJana Carter and Chris Perry). All are BUSTs ... with the Akili Smith type being the truest BUST. David Pollack is a hard one for me to categorize as a BUST. His play, albeit very limited, showed me he had all of the potential in the world to live up to his pick.

Enjoy your life Mr. Pollack. You're a man of true priorities. I respect that.

Bust = Wasted draft pick IMO. Pollack was a BUST from the start. There were some who thought he wouldn't amount to much in the NFL, in a sense, they were right.

I don't disagree...

If folks are going to bag on Ki-Jana as a bust <cough, me, cough>, then you have to lump Pollack in there too. Dude held out like an azz-clown, then barley got into shape to play, then got hurt, then ran around like a fool and got hurt again ending his career........textbook bust.

whatever....time to move on, Pollack certainly has. Good luck dude.

[BengalszoneBilly]

Pollack's deal was for 5 years and was for up to $13 million, with $7.65 million guaranteed.

Per the cap page over at go-bengals, Pollack was scheduled to make $860k in salary and have $1.3 million in amortized bonus for a total cap hit of $2.2 million. Obviously they aren't paying the salary, and Pollack will have to pay back the $1.3 million (actually, $2.6 million since he has to give back 2009's bonus money too).

Whoa, whoa, whoa. You're saying Pollack has to now pay back money paid to him by the team for whom he was severely injured trying to make a tackle for? That sits as good with me as the taking of pay by the Pentagon from wounded military personnel because they could not serve out their terms of service.

They paid the price. Now pay them.

[Thurmanation]

He messed up a tackle and broke his back, im not saying its entirely his fault but if you drop your head on a tackle you brake your neck. Case in point i believe him to be a bust.

[HoosierCat]

Pollack's deal was for 5 years and was for up to $13 million, with $7.65 million guaranteed.

Per the cap page over at go-bengals, Pollack was scheduled to make $860k in salary and have $1.3 million in amortized bonus for a total cap hit of $2.2 million. Obviously they aren't paying the salary, and Pollack will have to pay back the $1.3 million (actually, $2.6 million since he has to give back 2009's bonus money too).

Whoa, whoa, whoa. You're saying Pollack has to now pay back money paid to him by the team for whom he was severely injured trying to make a tackle for? That sits as good with me as the taking of pay by the Pentagon from wounded military personnel because they could not serve out their terms of service.

They paid the price. Now pay them.

I agree with the principle. But the NFL rules on players that retire allow teams to recoup bonus money, since it isn't actually considered bonus money, but an advance on future salary. I don't know if it's optional for the Bengals to do that or not. If so and they chose not to, I wouldn't complain.

[BengalszoneBilly]

He messed up a tackle and broke his back, im not saying its entirely his fault but if you drop your head on a tackle you brake your neck. Case in point i believe him to be a bust.

No Thurm. David broke his neck trying to tackle Rueben Droughns. And how can you say it was partially his fault, and now he's a bust for it!?! That's just wrong. He had heart, and played well. You're comparing injuries to the type Chris Perry has consistently suffered, which was many, like hang nails, paper cuts, muscle strains, etc.

Pollack was no bust.

[Kazkal]

How is Chris Perry a bust but pollack is not? the guy had no injury problems before we drafted him.

Wasted pick is one thing but "shrug" people seem have double standard for pollack since they liked him so much.