Bengals move on without LB Odell Thurman

"To see a young guy with so much potential and so much talent, and let it go to waste ..." said safety Dexter Jackson, one of those who sought out the linebacker. "His mindset just wasn't in the place. I wish him the best in whatever he does, but he had the opportunity to be here and be one of the best, but he didn't capitalize on his opportunities."

Asked if he got the sense that Thurman ignored what his teammates told him, Jackson said, "I wouldn't say that. Everything sounded good. I just think (it's) the other people he was with."

Thurman went back to Georgia for his grandmother's funeral on May 12 and didn't return for voluntary workouts last week. The Bengals have been using the workouts to install a new defense, a little more each day.

Thurman had a long way to go to win a spot on the team after not playing for two years. By missing so much time recently, he sealed his fate. Lewis suggested he shouldn't use the funeral as an excuse.

"His grandmother's been buried for quite a while. Don't get into his whole family structure," Lewis said. "He has not played football in two years. And we have people who will be better for our football team."

Henry and Thurman weren't the only offseason issues for the Bengals. Receivers Chad Johnson and T.J. Houshmandzadeh are skipping the voluntary workouts - Johnson because he wants to be traded, Houshmandzadeh because he prefers working out at home.

Palmer is disappointed that the two Pro Bowl receivers aren't in town helping the newcomers learn the system. The Bengals took three receivers in the draft last month.

"You'd hope that a guy like Chad and a guy like T.J. would be here helping guys out and trying to make the team better in that way," Palmer said. "But they've got to handle their own business themselves, too."

Players had bright orange T-shirts in their lockers Wednesday with "NOW" in large letters. Lewis gave them T-shirts that said "One Heartbeat" a few years ago, trying to foster a team mentality.

The new shirts are part of his latest attempt to pull the locker room together.

"His point is: Don't wait," Palmer said. "Now's our opportunity. This year's our opportunity. He said in the first meeting that we have enough talent in the room - and he said right now - to win the Super Bowl, don't wait for things to happen."