HEADLINES

Kyle Cook

Kyle Cook To Retire

August 21st, 2014 at 10:55am CST by Luke Adams

Former Bengals center Kyle Cook has decided to end his NFL playing career, according to ESPN.com’s Adam Caplan (via Twitter). The veteran lineman had been a free agent since being released by Cincinnati back in March.

Cook, 31, was one of the best interior lineman still available on the free agent market, as I noted when I examined notable veteran free agents earlier in the week. The Michigan State product had been the Bengals’ regular starter at center for the last five years, missing most of 2012 with a foot injury but playing all 16 games in each of the season from 2009-11 and in 2013.

Although Cook only played out half of the four-year extension he signed with Cincinnati back in 2011, he made out fairly well on that deal, earning base salaries of $2.5MM in 2012 and 2013 to go along with a $2.56MM signing bonus and $400K in workout bonuses. His release left the Bengals with $1.28MM in dead money on their cap for 2014.

With Cook no longer in the picture, the Bengals appear ready to hand the starting center job to fourth-round rookie Russell Bodine.

Pompei On Flowers, Incognito, Holmes, FAs

June 20th, 2014 at 2:25pm CST by Luke Adams

In his latest Read Option piece for Bleacher Report, Dan Pompei spoke to three front office executives from around the league about the best remaining free agents on the market. Let’s dive right in and check out what Pompei and the trio of execs had to say about the top available players….

  • One exec wonders if Brandon Flowers might be declining after a poor 2013, while another likens him to Alterraun Verner, who received a $26MM deal ($14MM guaranteed) from the Bucs earlier this offseason.
  • All three of Pompei’s sources agree that Richie Incognito is easily the best interior lineman available, but no teams want to deal with him after last year’s bullying scandal.
  • Although Santonio Holmes is the most intriguing unsigned wide receiver, there are concerns about his durability, his asking price, and potentially his off-field presence. “We’d have to look more closely at what happened in New York with him in the locker room,” said one front office man.
  • Jason Babin and Ryan Pickett are both entering their mid-30s, meaning teams will proceed with caution. There’s also some concern that both players have become increasingly one-dimensional – Babin as a pass-rusher and Pickett as a space-eater – but the execs think both players will sign somewhere.
  • One exec on Josh Freeman: “He is probably better as a starter, but he isn’t going to get a starting job now. And if he knows he’s a backup, he might not prepare like he’s a starter.”
  • Michael Bush may be hard-pressed to find a role, since the devaluation of running backs means clubs are more inclined to pick up a rookie who can play special teams rather than a veteran like Bush.
  • Offensive linemen Eric Winston, Kyle Cook, and Tyson Clabo also earned mentions to round out the list of 10 players.

Bengals Release Kyle Cook

March 11th, 2014 at 2:15pm CST by Zachary Links

The Bengals announced (via Twitter) that they have released offensive lineman Kyle Cook.

Cook was scheduled to make a $2.5MM base salary in 2014 and 2015 with a cap number of $3.34MM in each of those years. While cutting him loose leaves the Bengals with some dead money on their books, they will see a cap savings of $2.060MM this season and $2.7MM in 2015.

With Cook out of the picture, Mike Pollak is the new frontrunner to take over at center, tweets Geoff Hobson of Bengals.com. However, he’ll have competition from Trevor Robinson and T.J. Johnson (link).