Shedding problems, Bengals dump reinstated LB Thurman

The Bengals finally gave up on him when he went back to Georgia for the funeral of his grandmother, who raised him, and didn't return for the voluntary workouts. Lawson said Thurman stayed in Georgia to take care of matters related to his grandmother.

The Bengals are installing a new defense under coordinator Mike Zimmer. They drafted Southern California linebacker Keith Rivers in the first round, and were looking at ways to shuffle their linebackers.

"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," 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."

Lewis declined to be interviewed.

While it's a long shot for Henry to sign with another team -- his latest arrest could bring a full-season suspension if he gets back into the league -- someone might give Thurman another chance at a minimum salary.

Lawson was surprised that the Bengals let him go.

"Odell traveled a long, hard road to get back, to get reinstated," Lawson said. "It's unfortunate that, ultimately, the death of his grandmother sidetracked him and made football not the No. 1 priority over the last month."