The Bengals have released linebacker Odell Thurman just about a month after the NFL reinstated him from a two-year suspension.

Thurman had been gone for a week to deal with the passing of his grandmother. He had not come back to attend the team’s voluntary workouts last week.

Thurman’s agent had this to say:  “Everything was fine two weeks ago. He left for a week to deal with the death of his grandmother, and he didn’t make it back. I was just told by coach (Marvin) Lewis that he hadn’t been in the building enough since his reinstatement, and they decided to go in a different direction.”

After sticking by Thurman for the past two years, there has got to be something else going on for this to happen. I can’t imagine the team would release him for dealing with his grandmother’s death. If that is really the case, that doesn’t make the team look very good. But Thurman has had his share of trouble and the team stuck by him so he had to know he was on his last chance.

Still, the team was counting on him and as a fan, I was counting on him and looking forward to seeing him back on the field. We’ll wait and see if something else comes out. If nothing does, I imagine someone is going to have something to say about this. After everything several players have done, Thurman gets cut for missing some voluntary workouts because his grandmother died? It just doesn’t sound right.

It doesn’t look like the team will sign Shaun Alexander. Rudi Johnson has bulked up to about 225 pounds (up from 212 last year) and hopes to return to form after a down year last season.

Tailback Chris Perry has looked good in drills and if healthy, will really add another dimension to the offense. Kenny Watson and DeDe Dorsey both had their moments last year and Kenny Irons should return from a knee injury at some point.

As long as several injuries don’t happen, the Bengals should have depth at running back. I’m sure Alexander would have cost more money than the Bengals value him at and I’d say it’s not likely that Alexander would sign for a small amount.

The Bengals have signed wide receiver Maurice Purify. He is an undrafted free agent from Nebraska.

The stats that stick out are his multiple run-ins with the law. Purify has been in trouble for assault, resisting arrest and a DUI.

So now the team has drafted Jason Shirley who got drunk and drove his car through a building and they have signed Purify. So much was made about them cleaning things up, but they keep adding players with problems.

If this is going to continue, they might as well have kept Chris Henry. But these new guys have never been in the league and maybe they’ll learn a lesson from their past. The Bengals haven’t had much luck with that recently though.

Linebacker Ahmad Brooks has been accused of punching a woman in the face. The woman claims that Brooks and a neighbor were arguing and her children were upset by it. She says that Brooks told the neighbor he would “split his head open”.

So she went over and asked them to stop and “take it somewhere else”. Then she claims that “he then pulled back his fist and struck me in the left eye. I then fell and blacked out”.

Brooks has been summoned to appear in court on June 6 for the charge of misdemeanor assault, which is punishable by up to a year in jail.

This is yet another mark on the Bengals reputation. We’ll have to wait and see how the team handles this. Brooks is being counted on this season to help improve the defense. But if the team really wants to take a stand against players getting into trouble, they are likely to do something to Brooks.

The team waived linebackers Anthony Schlegel and Roy Manning. They now have nine linebackers on the roster and will have ten when Keith Rivers signs. Hopefully the injury bug doesn’t hit this position like last year.

Now that Shaun Alexander has been released by the Seahawks, his agent says that the Bengals will be one of the teams they check with. The question is, should the Bengals be interested?

It wasn’t that long ago that Alexander was the star of the league, setting records and looking unstoppable. Then he got injured and just never looked the same. It’s been quite a fall for him and the Bengals would have to figure out how much he has left to give.

Rudi Johnson and Chris Perry should be healthy. Kenny Watson and DeDe Dorsey played well at times and Kenny Irons was drafted last year. Irons is still recovering from a torn ACL. If all of those guys stay healthy, there are a lot of options for the Bengals to throw at opponents. But as we saw last year, injuries can quickly destroy any depth that you have.

I wouldn’t mind having Alexander on the team but only if he doesn’t cost a ton of money. If he would sign a short deal that is full of incentives, that might work out for both sides. But if the Bengals invest big money on him and he gets hurt again or just doesn’t show that he can play, that would hurt the team’s options for the future.

The Bengals did not pick a running back in the recent draft. I’ve heard some people say that must mean they are interested in Alexander but I don’t think that is definite. If the team is confidant that the running backs they already have will be healthy, they just might not want to add another player at that position.

I’m sure other teams will be interested in Alexander and there is probably a team that is willing to throw some money his way. Unless Alexander just really wants to play for his home team and takes a big paycut, it might not work out. But at the right price, I’m sure most people would welcome the addition.