5 Cincinnati Bengals Veterans Who Deserve to be Cut

5 Veterans Who Deserve To Be Cut

Normally an easy enough list to make, the Cincinnati Bengals have actually succeeded in making the task of choosing the veterans who most deserve to be cut an actual chore. In the recent past, the Bengals have had quite a large amount of players who, for various reasons, would belong on this list. Mostly because of their attitude towards the game and the sport but even though the reputation remains, the Bengals have managed to move away from many players like that, to the point that only Adam "Pacman" Jones has made the news headlines for being arrested this year.

Over the past number of years and particularly this offseason, the Bengals have done a great job of trimming the fat and it seems as though this year the vast majority of their 53-man roster will all be starting caliber, or close enough to it for me to have trouble making this difficult decision.

Having said all that, there are still a few players that really need to be on this list and in fact really need to be shown the door. They are mostly in positions where, in some sort of series of unfortunate events, the Bengals have managed to collect players who wouldn't get a starting spot on most rosters, but when they are all together, there's not much of a choice (I'm sure that by now, you know I'm talking about the Bengals safety situation.)

A man who narrowly avoided this list because of the mild technicality that he's only two years in the NFL, is Ryan Whalen (pictured above.) Whalen has been on the Bengals starting roster for two seasons now and in that time has totalled 11 catches for 80 yards and two touchdowns. It seems kind of a waste of space to keep someone active with a sorry stat sheet like that and by the looks of it, he's not really going to do a whole lot more for the Bengals roster either. For those reasons, I think he deserves to be cut. It's time for him to move aside and make room for some of the new rookies coming in like rookie receiver Cobi Hamilton.

5. Alex Smith

Tight end Alex Smith is on this list for one plain and simple reason. He's not going to make the team and he deserves a chance to find a team while he still can. The Cincinnati Bengals picked up Smith before the draft, perhaps as a misdirect regarding their first round pick, possibly because they didn't think Tyler Eifert would still be available, but if he doesn't get out soon, he'll be left without a team next season.

Smith will sit at the back of a talented tight end depth chart for mini camps and training camp before he's cut, but with Jermaine Gresham, Eifert and Orson Charles at the Bengals disposal, there's just no room for the 31-year-old former-Cleveland Brown.

4. Kyle Cook

After flighting his way from undrafted free agent in 2007 to the Cincinnati Bengals starting center from 2009-2011, Kyle Cook only managed to start in four games last season because of an injury at the beginning of the season which resulted in losing out on his position to rookie center Trevor Robinson before gaining it back at the end of the season. Considering Robinson was the top ranked center for the Bengals last season and barely made the top 32 NFL Centers in 2012 (30th,) the Bengals don't really have the room for a back up to a mediocre center.

3. Brandon Ghee

This is not the only shot I take at the Cincinnati Bengals secondary in this slideshow, and if I had it my way, it would probably just be a list of the failed secondary players, but that would quickly become tedious.

If Brandon Ghee makes the 53-man roster next season, then it's definitely his last chance. He's injured far too often, including missing all last season with a wrist injury. As for the two seasons he has actually played in, he's only managed to play 13 games racking up a grand total of 10 career solo tackles.

There's no question about it, this is his is absolute last chance, if he's given one in 2013 that is.

2. Aaron Maybin

If you didn't see this one coming, then I'll have to question the signal strength on the TV under the rock you've been living under for the past 12 months. In his four-year career, Aaron Maybin only racked up 691 defensive snaps, six quarterback sacks, six hits and 32 total pressures on the quarterback. Pitiful stats for a four-year career considering the Cincinnati Bengals starting defensive tackles Geno Smith and Michael Johnson have seen that in 2012 alone.

At the end of the day, he's simply not good enough to be an NFL player because he doesn't work at it. He thinks that his God-given ability is enough to get him through as it did in college, but it's likely to be curtains for the 25-year-old in 2013. Rookie linebacker Sean Porter, who had a work ethic like almost no other in the NCAA during his time will likely take his spot in the linebacker depth chart next season.

1. Taylor Mays

I don't really think there could be any question as to who would be No. 1 in this list.

The entire NFL had high hopes for three time All-American safety Taylor Mays when he was drafted in 2010 by the San Francisco 49ers. One year after being drafted in the second round by the Niners, however, they were happy to trade him to the Cincinnati Bengals for song. The Bengals should have been suspicious that the Niners were looking for a seventh round pick for Mays, but they were too blindsided by the fact that they were getting one of the most athletic players in the NFL to worry about the why's of it all.

Participating in only 25 percent of the snaps last season after his demotion due to abysmal play, Mays still only managed to defend 25 percent of the passes against him. Quite simply, his athleticism does not translate to the NFL, and until they find a coach to bring out his true potential, then he shouldn't be using up a spot on any roster.