Thurman to be released? Merged

[duus]

At the very least, releasing Henry and Thurman sends a loud and clear message to the draft picks this year who have had some problems in the past. My suspicion is that it will now be zero tolerance. Fine by me.

[Thurmanation]

I was more an NFL fan then a Bengals fan before Thurman entered the league, the Bengals continue to ease me back to being just an NFL fan.

Does that mean you're going to change your name? Or are you just going to stop visiting this site?

The names not changing, the picture might, depends on who picks him up.

[HAPPYJAQ]

I was more an NFL fan then a Bengals fan before Thurman entered the league, the Bengals continue to ease me back to being just an NFL fan.

Does that mean you're going to change your name? Or are you just going to stop visiting this site?

The names not changing, the picture might, depends on who picks him up.

As a huge UGA fan, I respect it. Marvin probably won't be drafting anymore 'Dawgs to play LB for the Bengals. All that said, I hope Odell still finds a way to have a good career somewhere in the NFL.

[COB]

No, nothing has really changed. We're just getting rid of the guys that were more visible in the press for five arrests and two year suspensions.

I think some things have changed. For instance, turn the clock back two or three years. A young guy drafted or signed UFA or traded a couple years in the league comes to the Bengals. He looks around, and if he is so inclined, feels free to begin partying and thugging it up.

Fast forward to today. Now that same guys comes in here (See the two guys you mentioned, Purify and Shirley), and I've got to believe their thought process is very different. It must be along the lines of this organization will cut me if I get in trouble or don't show up for workouts.

Also, taking chances on bad character guys on day one of the draft seems to be over. Henry and Thurman should, and I think were, the end of that. Take a flyer on a fifth rounder like Shirley or an undrafted free agent like Purify? There is a lot less at risk and it seems like the proper place to take these types of character risks. Now if one or both of those guys comes to Cinci and proceeds to thug it up without getting cut, that would be something else.

[HAPPYJAQ]

No, nothing has really changed. We're just getting rid of the guys that were more visible in the press for five arrests and two year suspensions.

I think some things have changed. For instance, turn the clock back two or three years. A young guy drafted or signed UFA or traded a couple years in the league comes to the Bengals. He looks around, and if he is so inclined, feels free to begin partying and thugging it up.

Fast forward to today. Now that same guys comes in here (See the two guys you mentioned, Purify and Shirley), and I've got to believe their thought process is very different. It must be along the lines of this organization will cut me if I get in trouble or don't show up for workouts.

Also, taking chances on bad character guys on day one of the draft seems to be over. Henry and Thurman should, and I think were, the end of that. Take a flyer on a fifth rounder like Shirley or an undrafted free agent like Purify? There is a lot less at risk and it seems like the proper place to take these types of character risks. Now if one or both of those guys comes to Cinci and proceeds to thug it up without getting cut, that would be something else.

I agree, with my only other concern would be if the Bengals are beginning to overcompensate for drafting guys who turned out to be problems, as projected, with taking a harder-than-normal position on those same types of players these days. This might be good or bad but definitely neccassary. The other major negative to this, is that the '05 draft with Pollack, Thurman and Henry being 3 of the top 83 picks that year, almost certainly has to go down as one of the worst in Bengals history...and it was only 3 years ago. Hopefully, this draft produces enough future-starters/impact players to make up for that.

[TJJackson]

The latest piece from Hobson has this little gem buried within it

Michels (one of Odell's agents) said "it''s purely a money issue right now" because the Bengals have a pending grievance against Thurman.

Let me hazard two guesses here, both of which I am fairly certain of:

1) The Bengals grievance is along the lines of an attempt to recover some of Thurman's rookie signing bonus with the basis of the claim being breach (due to negligence) of contract

and

2) Thurman has long since spent/drank/snorted all the money he had left after paying lawyers and agents - best of luck, Mikey-boy!

You can bet they are praying he does indeed sign elsewhere so there is new money to be claimed from the next team foolish enough to give it to him

[Ickey44]

When you are a player that has been suspended for 2 years...AND you are coming back to a new position coach AND a new defensive coordinator...AND you know you have everything to prove AND everything to lose, there is no such thing as voluntary.

My point wasn't that he shouldn't be here, but that he doesn't have to be. The Bengals have opened themselves to litigation by using that as a reason to cut him. It's stupid, period. They've hung on to him for two years while he was suspended, why not give him some time to mourn in his own way? There's still more OTA's, plus mini-camps, plus pre-season. There's plenty of time to learn everything. He wouldn't have started this year anyway. You act like it's the end of the world cause he missed three days of activities.

I guarantee when he got re-instated by the league and sat down to talk to Marvin and the rest of the front office, they told him he was on his last chance and that he needed to be working with the team as much as possible.

That may be, but there are exceptions to everything. I would think that your Grandmother (who raised you) dying would be one.

I myself have lost family members...even those close to me like my father. I know everyone reacts differently, BUT he got to spend the last 2 weeks of her life by her side, which is something that most people don't get a chance to do. That gave him quite a bit of time to come to grips with what was going to happen. Then he can't show up for work a week after her funeral? I'm just not buying it.

Everyone grieves differently. You don't have to buy it.

Right back at ya.

By the way even though they are considered "voluntary" they do still get paid to be there...

That's because it's against the law for you to work and not get paid for it. If they don't show up, they don't get paid. It's not like Odell got a check for not being here.

[Ickey44]

Yea right, because we all know Odell is gonna just pick up where he left off and doesn't need the OTA's.... Never mind the fact he hasn't played in 2 years... They gave him every chance to come back and Odell screwed himself... If you wanna be pissed at someone be pissed at Odell for screwing the Bengals and the fans AGAIN!!!! Oh I forgot, it was never Odell's fault to begin with....It never is...

Odell screwed us AND the Bengals because his grandma died? You're heartless. I feel sorry for YOUR family members. I can be pissed at the Bengals for making a seriously stupid decision. If they would've cut him after he was reinstated, I would've been fine with that. If they would've done it during preseason, I'd have been fine with that. But cutting a man for taking care a family matters is just wrong on so many levels that it's unfathomable.

[Ickey44]

What are you going to believe? Number 1, Marvin and Mike Brown are a$$holes that show no sympathy to a guy on bereavement OR number 2,

Odell fukked up in the last couple weeks?

My money is sitting on 2.

The story will get out though and watch if he clears waivers or not. If it is number 2, then no team will take him. If its number 1, he'll not get by waivers.

Well, right now the Bengals are letting everyone believe that it's number one, so that's why most of us are pissed.

[HairOnFire]

Yet another bone head by the Bengals - they could have traded him and got something out of him.

Good point. Even if it was just a low-round conditional pick, like the Jets got for Robertson from Denver, at least there's a chance to recoup something from the whole debacle. But doing that would require a level of creativity the bengals rarely demonstrate.

Seriously? You guys actually think Odell had any remaining trade value worth jumping through hoops for?

[Sandwedge]

All I know is that, no matter whose "fault" it is, we aren't a better team today than we were yesterday.

Maybe, but we arent any worse either, since the dude hasnt stepped foot on a field in 2 years.

Really? Have you checked our LB depth? Oh, wait, that's right, we don't have any. Heck even our starters fail to strike fear. I like Dhani Jones, but he isn't going to keep opposing d-coordinators up at night. Rivers has plenty of potential, but he's still a rookie. And with Brooks still on the mend, everyone's favorite converted CFL DE has to be pencilled in at SAM. And behind them we got what, some refugees from Arizona?

Bottom line: Sims and Shirley both better come on real f**king fast because our LB corps is in danger of becoming our LB "corpse" again.

Sorry but I'd rather be backed up by someone that I know I can RELY on... Odell is about as reliable as winning the lotto tomorrow...

[Sandwedge]

Yea right, because we all know Odell is gonna just pick up where he left off and doesn't need the OTA's.... Never mind the fact he hasn't played in 2 years... They gave him every chance to come back and Odell screwed himself... If you wanna be pissed at someone be pissed at Odell for screwing the Bengals and the fans AGAIN!!!! Oh I forgot, it was never Odell's fault to begin with....It never is...

Odell screwed us AND the Bengals because his grandma died? You're heartless. I feel sorry for YOUR family members. I can be pissed at the Bengals for making a seriously stupid decision. If they would've cut him after he was reinstated, I would've been fine with that. If they would've done it during preseason, I'd have been fine with that. But cutting a man for taking care a family matters is just wrong on so many levels that it's unfathomable.

Who said anything about attending his g-ma's funeral?? Get a grip dude, he screwed us once by being suspended and then again by being immature and feeling it nessesary not work his ass off to get back on this team... If he really wanted to play football then he would have been here.. Again it's never his fault, huh??

[agreen_112]

This team is lead by the biggest bunch of idiots. Makes me wonder why I'm a Bengals fan sometimes... Next we'll loose Chad Johnson and then from there we'll fall apart at the seams. All because this team is ran by gotdamn idiots. This is f**king pathetic. Odell will be signed by Baltimore by the end of the month.

[Ickey44]

Yea right, because we all know Odell is gonna just pick up where he left off and doesn't need the OTA's.... Never mind the fact he hasn't played in 2 years... They gave him every chance to come back and Odell screwed himself... If you wanna be pissed at someone be pissed at Odell for screwing the Bengals and the fans AGAIN!!!! Oh I forgot, it was never Odell's fault to begin with....It never is...

Odell screwed us AND the Bengals because his grandma died? You're heartless. I feel sorry for YOUR family members. I can be pissed at the Bengals for making a seriously stupid decision. If they would've cut him after he was reinstated, I would've been fine with that. If they would've done it during preseason, I'd have been fine with that. But cutting a man for taking care a family matters is just wrong on so many levels that it's unfathomable.

Who said anything about attending his g-ma's funeral?? Get a grip dude, he screwed us once by being suspended and then again by being immature and feeling it nessesary not work his ass off to get back on this team... If he really wanted to play football then he would have been here.. Again it's never his fault, huh??

Yes, I'm well aware that he was suspended for two years. If that's the reason we are cutting him, then we should have done it as soon as he was reinstated. But it's not the reason we cut him. We cut him because he took time off to be with his grandma while she was sick and then to attend her funeral. He hasn't come back yet, but apparently he's taking care of stuff relating to her estate and such. On top of that, he's not contractually required to be here right now. So, yes, this was a stupid move. I fail to understand how you and some others here think that football should be more important than family. It's sad.

[duus]

Yes, I'm well aware that he was suspended for two years. If that's the reason we are cutting him, then we should have done it as soon as he was reinstated. But it's not the reason we cut him. We cut him because he took time off to be with his grandma while she was sick and then to attend her funeral. He hasn't come back yet, but apparently he's taking care of stuff relating to her estate and such. On top of that, he's not contractually required to be here right now. So, yes, this was a stupid move. I fail to understand how you and some others here think that football should be more important than family. It's sad.

... and you have made the assumption that that is exactly all he was doing. To believe Thurman was completely the victim here, you must believe that an admitted alcoholic, coming off a 2 year substance abuse suspension, truly needed nearly a month off to 'take care of things' related to his dying grandmother. On top of believing he needed and used all of this time for upright reasons, you must also ask how much is enough? Another 2 weeks? Another month? I just think if I was in his situation, I would find a way to correlate my new career opportunity with honoring my dear grandmother. In some twisted way, this how thing reminds me of the Seinfeld 'magic loogie'.

[gregstephens]

What are you going to believe? Number 1, Marvin and Mike Brown are a$$holes that show no sympathy to a guy on bereavement OR number 2,

Odell fukked up in the last couple weeks?

My money is sitting on 2.

The story will get out though and watch if he clears waivers or not. If it is number 2, then no team will take him. If its number 1, he'll not get by waivers.

Well, right now the Bengals are letting everyone believe that it's number one, so that's why most of us are pissed.

I wouldn't go on the assumption that 'most of us are pissed.' There is no way the Bengals cut Thurman because he needed an extra few days to sort out his grandmother's situation/grieve.

As far as what the Bengals are letting everyone believe, it may be a case where they can't comment on the reasons. If the Bengals came out and said 'X' happened, people would be screaming that those are merely allegations and where's Thurman's due process?

Bottom line is, I don't know why the Bengals did it. Do they have the unfettered right to do it? Sure. Given how thin we are at LB, I still think something is behind this other than a dead grandmother's funeral. I may never know. Let's move forward with what we got. If Thurman gets a job elsewhere, I wish him the best of luck. If he doesn't get a job somewhere else, kinda confirms something's up, doesn't it?

You see how many teams have rushed to sign Henry.

[Defender]

Odell will be signed by Baltimore by the end of the month.

My money's on the Browns. They seem to do well with players who have an axe to grind against the Bengals...

[kentjett]

He was walking on thin ice and he screwed it up. He is one of the dumbest guys I've heard of. He is clearly out of shape just by looking at his huge gut sticking out of his shirt and he wasn't doing the work he needed to get trim down and get back into playing shape. He wasn't taking advantage of his second chance and then he misses a week instead of the typical 3 days every other american worker misses. I feel bad for him in a way but he deserved to get s**t-canned.

[jjakq27]

I really feel for Odell because I think he has a very, very serious problem. But on the other hand people that want to rip the team, only remember the one that got him fired but not the other 10 things that led up to it to begin with.

[Stripes]

I for one find the notion that he was released solely because of poor gramma's funeral to be absolutely ridiculous. He has proven time and time again to be a moron, and I'm sure he f**ked up again.

[Pidge]

I really feel for Odell because I think he has a very, very serious problem. But on the other hand people that want to rip the team, only remember the one that got him fired but not the other 10 things that led up to it to begin with.

Yep, I think most of us do. He's got a hard enough job to do getting on the straight and narrow and without a concrete family structure to fall back on. Football, quite honestly, should be the last thing on his mind right now. It seems it is as well. Staying off the sauce and drugs and his child should be priority.

The Bengals priority, unless they've changed their name to The Samaritans, should be winning some football games.

This was the only logical conclusion the whole affair really.

[Ickey44]

Yes, I'm well aware that he was suspended for two years. If that's the reason we are cutting him, then we should have done it as soon as he was reinstated. But it's not the reason we cut him. We cut him because he took time off to be with his grandma while she was sick and then to attend her funeral. He hasn't come back yet, but apparently he's taking care of stuff relating to her estate and such. On top of that, he's not contractually required to be here right now. So, yes, this was a stupid move. I fail to understand how you and some others here think that football should be more important than family. It's sad.

... and you have made the assumption that that is exactly all he was doing. To believe Thurman was completely the victim here, you must believe that an admitted alcoholic, coming off a 2 year substance abuse suspension, truly needed nearly a month off to 'take care of things' related to his dying grandmother. On top of believing he needed and used all of this time for upright reasons, you must also ask how much is enough? Another 2 weeks? Another month? I just think if I was in his situation, I would find a way to correlate my new career opportunity with honoring my dear grandmother. In some twisted way, this how thing reminds me of the Seinfeld 'magic loogie'.

I haven't ASSUMED anything. It's what's written in every article I've read so far about his release. Like I said before, if there's another reason, come out with it. But it this is the reason they're sticking with I'm beyond disappointed.

[gregstephens]

Yes, I'm well aware that he was suspended for two years. If that's the reason we are cutting him, then we should have done it as soon as he was reinstated. But it's not the reason we cut him. We cut him because he took time off to be with his grandma while she was sick and then to attend her funeral. He hasn't come back yet, but apparently he's taking care of stuff relating to her estate and such. On top of that, he's not contractually required to be here right now. So, yes, this was a stupid move. I fail to understand how you and some others here think that football should be more important than family. It's sad.

... and you have made the assumption that that is exactly all he was doing. To believe Thurman was completely the victim here, you must believe that an admitted alcoholic, coming off a 2 year substance abuse suspension, truly needed nearly a month off to 'take care of things' related to his dying grandmother. On top of believing he needed and used all of this time for upright reasons, you must also ask how much is enough? Another 2 weeks? Another month? I just think if I was in his situation, I would find a way to correlate my new career opportunity with honoring my dear grandmother. In some twisted way, this how thing reminds me of the Seinfeld 'magic loogie'.

I haven't ASSUMED anything. It's what's written in every article I've read so far about his release. Like I said before, if there's another reason, come out with it. But it this is the reason they're sticking with I'm beyond disappointed.

I was disappointed last year when the Bengals cut Brian Simmons. He was a good guy, had good character, was real nice to his fans and played his heart out on every single play. The Bengals decided that, despite everything Simmons had given to the team, he was no longer needed. If we want to start moralizing the NFL, the Simmons cut gets my sympathies ten times more than a guy like Thurman.

As has been pointed out here before on this thread, most of us have jobs where we could take a day or two off to bereave a mother, grandmother, child or spouse, but if we haven't returned after a certain point, we're going to either lose those jobs or, at the least, be forced to take the time off without pay. Even if they solely cut Thurman because they felt he was dicking around with his return from the funeral, et cetera, that is their decision.

If you find yourself beyond disappointed because of a personnel decision by an NFL team, expecially towards a player that really hasn't proven he's deserving of the benefit of the doubt, I'm not sure how you can enjoy the experience of being an NFL fan, or professional sports fan for that matter.

[BengalszoneBilly]

Did this whole Thurman situation come from here? Maybe the team saw the risk coming, and didn't want to take it...

Goodell to fine teams for player misbehavior

ATLANTA (AP)—The NFL put more teeth in its personal conduct policy on Tuesday when commissioner Roger Goodell announced he would fine teams whose players were suspended for disciplinary reasons.

“We want to continue to emphasize personal conduct and personal responsibility,” he said at the end of a one-day league meeting. “One way to do it is to hold teams responsible for the conduct of their players.

Goodell instituted a tougher policy during the 2006 season, his first as commissioner, after a series of arrests, nine alone affecting the Cincinnati Bengals.

Two Bengals, wide receiver Chris Henry and linebacker Odell Thurman, received lengthy suspensions—Thurman for two years. Both were cut by the team after being reinstated.

Goodell also said he would meet soon with another major offender, cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones, who was suspended for all of last season following a series of run-ins with the law. Jones was traded last month from Tennessee to Dallas and has petitioned for the right to work out with his new team, something he will need permission from the league to do.

[BengalPimp]

I hate to say this, but look for Odell to end up in prison some time soon.

The guy has no parents, just lost his grandmother, and THE ONLY PEOPLE HE HAD LEFT THAT TRIED TO HELP HIM GET HIS LIFE TOGETHER(The Bengals),

he pissed that opportunity away. Sad to say....but the guy has NOBODY to keep him straight now.

Hoping the dude turns his life around, I realistically don't see that happening now that the only support he had left(Bengals) have cut their ties with him.

Good Luck Odell......oh yeah, don't drop the soap.