BENGALS TO DUMP ODELL FOR MISSING VOLUNTARY WORKOUTS
Posted by Mike Florio on May 19, 2008, 10:22 a.m. EDT
A league source tells us that the Bengals plan to release linebacker Odell Thurman on Monday.
But we’re told that the move isn’t the result of any relapse of substance abuse or renewed misconduct by the talented-but-troubled defender, who missed most of the past two NFL seasons due to a suspension. Instead, the Bengals allegedly are cutting Thurman for missing voluntary workouts last week.
Thurman participated in a rookie minicamp. After his grandmother recently died, he had to travel to Georgia for the funeral. Betty Thurman raised Odell, whose mother died in 1993 and father died five years ago. Betty Thurman was seriously ill when Odell was reinstated last month by Commissioner Roger Goodell.
The Bengals, per the source, told Thurman to come back to town for so-called Organized Team Activities one day after his grandmother’s funeral. When he got to Georgia, however, Thurman realized that he couldn’t leave so quickly.
Advised that he couldn’t make it back, the Bengals said that he either had to return for the OTAs, or he’d be released. We’re told that his locker was cleaned out on Tuesday, May 13.
Bengals Public Relations Director Jack Brennan told us by phone that he’s not aware of any coming roster moves regarding Odell Thurman.
If the contention regarding the reason for the release is accurate, the move would be a clear violation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, since the workouts were voluntary in nature. Over the past several years, a chronic failure by the NFL Players Association to enforce this rule has contributed to an atmosphere in which teams often think that they can treat attendance at the voluntary drills as mandatory — and thus they often do.
It’s presently unknown whether Thurman will file a grievance due to the decision to cut him. His better move might be to try to latch on with another team, and continue his attempt to fulfill the promise that he showed as a rookie in 2005.
